The Blueprints Of A Family
by SinderYuri
Summary: Phil Coulson arrests and interrogates a young Russian woman, named Tyler Yuri. Love at first sight? Not at all. She hated him. But they quickly bonded as he gave her a job, and trained her. Within weeks of meeting they became lovers, and this relationship lasted for five years until he died in the field in New Orleans.
1. The Beginning

THIS IS NOT AN ACTUAL FANFIC. THESE ARE MESSAGES DONE THROUGH ROLEPLAY IN 2012 THAT I WISH TO DOCUMENT. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP, BUT NOT THE WRITING. THE WRITING IS UNIMPORTANT HERE BECAUSE THIS ISN'T A FANFIC, THESE ARE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE THAT I WISH TO DOCUMENT FOR THE PUBLIC. COMMENTS ON THEIR RELATIONSHIP ARE APPRECIATED.

One can always hope." Phil gave a small smile to the young woman. His changed tactics had at least gotten her to react more as well. He let the fact that she had referred to Director Fury by his first name go. "I'm afraid not. We're here to talk, and nothing more." Phil stepped back, closer to the wall. "I never once said boring." Phil smiled. "Just lengthy." He gave a small nod. "Not at all. Just doing my job." Phil stepped away from the door. "Well, I'll let you get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Ms. Yuri." That was how it started. Goodnight, Ms. Yuri."

_That was the beginning.  
_

She smiled at him, and when he finished speaking, she was slightly at a loss for words. "That is amazing… Hopefully I get to meet my hero soon too." she said with a grin, glad that he didn't know about her hero. He seemed to know everything about her, and she set herself on a missing to see just what he didn't know, and so far she seemed to be drawing blank. He knew every little thing about her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable. Did he know her back round story, her history, and her issues? And did he know she had connections all over the globe? Probably. It sent an unpleasant tingle up her spine, the fact he might know literally everything about her, including things she had since long forgot.

"And who would that be? Your hero?" Phil asked. He was curious who this girl's hero was. The girl who spoke as many languages as he had learned over his lifetime more than twice as long as hers had been so far, self-taught in various fighting styles that he himself had learned through training, and who could hack through classified, protected files like she was sending a text.

"My hero is actually Thor. He's an incredible individual." She murmured with a wry smile, knowing it wasn't a very common choice in heroes. She wanted to ask him more, all kinds of questions. But the confindentiality within SHIELD meant a lot of those questions wouldn't be answered. She smiled at his reaction, glad it was positive.

"Thor is incredible." Phil agreed with her. He had gotten to know Thor perhaps more than even any of the Avengers during the time he'd spent in New Mexico before they'd known anything about Asgard and Thor and Loki. Thor had opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for earth and for SHIELD. "He's a fine man. A bit odd, but they all are." -

[_The original story of Red, is that her father was doing an experiment on MPD, and accidentally created Red within Sinde_r.]

Phil held the girl upright. "Yes, I'm sure." He assured her. "Maybe you should sit down or..." He trailed off as she shot another question at him. He looked her straight in the eyes. "If you weren't already an agent? A promising potential recruit. And a friend." Even though Phil had only known her for little more than a day, he felt like he knew her and she certainly seemed to know him.

She nodded, taking a breath in and sliding down the wall until she sat. She took slow breaths, shaky." My mind, it... it has its own bad side... It's called Red." She explained, remembering how the experiment to implant Red had gone wrong, leaving her battling for control of her mind. She glanced up at him, trying to ignore the pain, shooting down her back like a bolt of lightning. It took her breath away, the sharp pain.

Phil had been aware of the experiment. SHIELD new a lot more about her than he had previously thought. He'd been fully briefed last night after taking her to her room. However, he hadn't known about all of the negative effects it seemed to have on her. "Just rest a minute." Phil wanted to help her somehow, but he didn't quite know what to do. "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head." It'll... stop soon, when it calms down." She said, resting her head on the wall and sighing. It hadn't been this bad in a long time, it had taken her by surprise, like an ambush. She hadn't been prepared and now she felt weak. She had never lost a fight with her mind, it always left her be after a while. She closed her eyes again, and began reciting a paragraph from the Bible in Old Italian.

Phil sat against the wall, next to her, his shoulder touching hers. As another agent passed them giving them an odd look, Phil glared at him as an indication to keep moving. The agent complied, familiar with Coulson from many missions. He listened as she recited the bible, easily translating the Italian. Phil joined in, finishing off the paragraph.

* * *

She tried to hide her smile as he paused, looked at them and kept walking. She let out a giggle, glancing at Phil. She hugged him properly this time, standing in the middle of the hall. She smiled at him." So..."

Phil kept his straight face on until Fury was around the corner and gone. He smiled at Tyler as she hugged him again. "So?" He raised an eyebrow. "Welcome to SHIELD." He grinned at her.

She laughed and hugged him tight. "Thank you so much, for everything." she beamed. She was glad to be here, instead of being stuck alone in her small house. She smiled at him." Are you busy, or would you like to show me around?" she grinned.

"There's really no need to thank me." Phil hugged her back for a moment. "Well, I have a briefing for an operation to run later today but until then I believe I can get away with showing you around if you want." He could have gone back to his office and finished some paperwork but that could wait. Besides, someone needed to show her around and Fury couldn't mind him doing that.

She smiled and nodded. "That'd be great-"she paused for a moment. "Unless you have other work to do, then you better get back to work mister." she said with a wink. She didn't want to keep him distracted from his work, she didn't feel it was her place to do so. She grinned at him, and hoped he didn't have work to do. Paperwork, more than likely, if he had any work at all. She just didn't want him to get in any trouble at all for being kind to her, which was usually a price most paid. She checked his thoughts for a second, to be sure he didn't lie about anything important, for the sake of hanging out with a new friend.

"No, it's fine. I don't have anything urgent. I never take any time off, rarely have time for breaks, I should be allowed to do this one thing." Phil smiled back at her. "So, anything in particular you'd like to see?"

"You need to take more breaks then, don't you?" she smiled back. She wondered if he had any family, and if he did, would they mind him working such long hours? "I'd love to see every bit of this place I have access to! Although the science labs do sound pretty cool." she grinned. She'd always had a love for chemistry and biology. Physics, not so much. But still she knew quite a bit about it all. She looked down the hall for a second, distracted, then looked back to him, smiling. She shook her head and began to walk down the hall, in the direction Phil was already heading before they bumped into one another again.

Phil smiled at her. "No, it's fine." He assured her. "Then we'll start with the labs. Follow me." Phil led her through the hall, down a couple levels and down another few halls and turns. When they got to the labs, Phil used his card to get in and held the door for her. "Well, these are the main labs though there are several smaller ones scattered around this floor. This level is mainly for research and development among some other things."

She followed only a few steps behind him, and when they reached the labs she gasped slightly. "Wow, these labs are amazing! My lab back home was literally my basement. It was really dark and… it never ended well. It was kind of meth lab-ish." she grinned, remembering the time she blew a whole chunk of the wall off using a small amount of C4 explosives. She strolled around the desks, around the equipment and the drawing boards. She had a sparkle in her eye, her face lit up and her smile wide as she looked at everything. "This is absolutely amazing... "She said, shaking her head slightly.

Phil stepped to the side and let Tyler have a moment. He smiled slightly as he was reminded of all the times that Tony and Bruce's experiments also didn't end well. "Well, you may get to work in here sometimes. It depends on what Director Fury wants you to do."

"All the experiments I could do here..." she trailed off, busy looking at everything. She took it all in, admiring every inch of the room. She'd always wanted to work in a lab, just like this one. "Growing up, I always wanted to work in a lab like this, but my dad always said it would be a waste of time." she explained, flicking through a small notepad full of chemical names.

"And I'm sure you'll get to do them. Tony always welcomes anyone willing to let him get away with making an explosion." Phil smirked. "Hardly a waste of time. Actually, what we do here is very worthwhile, I think." - "I would have...even with the damn heart monitor and oxygen mask...if I'd been able to..." Phil smirked. "But by time I could have punched him...well...Nick's been my best friend for a long time now...I wouldn't actually hurt him."

"I guess yeah, he is your friend... but still, I would've been rightly pissed off at him for a long time. Even though he was saving the Earth." She replied, smiling slightly at him. "I could imagine you walking around in an oxygen mask killing people." she laughed.

"Well...I was...but I can't hold grudges..." Phil looked back up at her and laughed at her comment. "I wasn't in any shape to being doing anything at all, much less killing people."

_[This is after their first kiss. Tyler noticed Phil was in pain during their talking, and she convinced him to let her heal him. This takes place before Tyler was shot in the head, and therefore she still has her abilities (P.E.R and telekinesis). She also 'forgets' to tell him the side effects of helping him is that the pain he feels will vanish, but be transferred to her body for up to three days. She will experience this pain at its worst. There is a strong possibility it could kill her. While healing him, Tyler pecks him on the lips and bashfully apologizes. He smiles and gives her a little kiss, which they then turn into a passionate embrace. But soon after the healing is complete, Tyler collapses and the pain begins.] _

"I should have tried harder..." It came out as a whisper. Phil was suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline rush had pushed him this far but he was still dizzy and worn out from when Tyler had healed him. It hit him in a wave and he gently lay her down on the bed, lying next to her, trying to keep his puffy, red eyes open. "Why didn't you tell me? You should have told me." His voice was hoarse.

"Sleep. You need it." she said to him as he lay down beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder and put one arm over him, like she was almost trying to protect him. She nuzzled up to him slightly, and sighed. "Because it was too late for me to take the drug." she said quietly. She didn't want to worry him, and was about to say something else when the pain started again. She squeezed her eyes shut, and took a deep, slow breath in. Calm down, she told herself over and over again. It was going to hurt but it was for a great cause. She tried to refocus herself, ignore the pain. It was easier said than done.

"No, I'm fine. You sleep. You need it more than I do." Phil works his hands around her in a hug as she put her head on his. "You still should have told me. Maybe I could have done something...anything..." He felt her tense up again and knew what was coming. His heart wrenched at even the thought of what she was about to go through, but he swallowed herd past the lump in his throat and steeled himself. He needed to stay strong from her. "You know, distractions were the only thing that really got me through..." He squeezed her encouragingly and whispered in her ear. "You're not going to think about it, okay? As hard as that seems. You're just going to talk to me, you're going to think about me and us and how we met and the time in the hallway and you're going to look straight into my eyes..." Phil pulled his head back just a bit so it was right in front of hers, close enough that their noses were touching. "...and you're going to think about how much I love you right now." He kissed her softly.

She sighed when he said he didn't need to sleep. She did what he told her, ignoring the pain and looking into his eyes. She smiled slightly. "Distractions usually work, I heard. When he said he loved her she couldn't hide her smile. "Right now only? Aw, see I just got my hopes up." she chuckled, kissing him back. She held the kiss for a moment, and she was thinking about how they met. She never did get that small black device back. She pulled back just a little bit and when she did, she immediately met his gaze. She could definitely feel the pain, but it didn't seem as sharp and horrible as it had. But she knew it was only starting now, and it was going to get worse. She would end up screaming but she didn't mind as long as he stayed beside her. She felt him squeeze her tighter and she was most definitely relieved.

"Well, I'm working on that...right now, yes. I'm hoping it'll carry over to later, but no promises." Phil smiled at her. He continued smiling through the kiss and when it ended he just stared into her eyes. "Just keep talking to me. Talk to me about anything you want, I'm going to listen and talk to you and we're going to get you through this."

"What was your very first impression of me?" she smiled, nuzzling up to him just a little and enjoying the warmth. Her first thought of him was "workaholic". She still kind of thought that, but now she saw him as much, much more. She saw him as a friend, a little bit more than a friend, and like a protector. She was glad she'd ended up being caught hacking them. Because he was here practically saving her life. She listened intently as he answered her question, and when he stopped talking she kissed him again. The pain was most definitely there, much she couldn't feel it as much. It was a fuzzy burning sensation and that was it. No sharp stabs of pain shooting through her like a bolt of lightning. No blurred vision and nausea. Just a headache and a bad chest pain. It was relieving to an extent that he was helping her so much. It was a worthy sacrifice for him.

"First impression of you?" Phil chuckled. "Oh, jeez, I don't know...and don't get offended...because I'm not sure what I'm going to come up with..." He thought for a minute. "Stubborn." It was a simple enough conclusion, but that had been the overwhelming vibe he'd gotten off her during that interrogation. That and the sarcasm...almost reminded him of Tony, but he wasn't going to say that. The kiss took Phil by surprise. He didn't think Tyler had enough energy to do much of anything. But she just up and kissed him again and he didn't push her away. He kissed her back, hoping that she wasn't in too much pain.

As Phil saw the pain taking over

* * *

again, he wrapped his arms around her again holding her tight. "You can do this. Just keep talking to me, alright? You're going to be fine." He stroked her hair, trying to do anything to keep her calm. "It's okay, you're fine." He whispered to her. He was worried about her not being able to see, but tried not to show it. Every scream she let out wrenched his heart, but he swallowed hard past the lump in his throat and held his tears in. He had to be strong for her, he had to be calm so that she could be calm.

She didn't like when he put his arms around her, it made her feel claustrophobic. She was already finding it hard to breathe, and so when she pushed him away, she immediately felt bad. She tried to breathe, but it was hard. Her breaths were shallow and quick. But her screams lasted much longer." I can't breathe properly." she tried to explain why she'd pushed him away. She lay on her back, and stared at the ceiling. She was trying to relax and breathe. But air just couldn't reach her lungs, it seemed. She knew it was killing him to watch her like this. "Go to the medical room, and get two small orange tablets that are left on the table by the door..." she said. She knew there weren't anything of the sort there, but she knew it was killing him to watch her. Maybe if he left for a moment to take a breather, he might clear his head a little. She felt horrible about having to trick him, but she didn't like having to keep him here.

Phil was slightly hurt when Tyler pushed him away. But he could see that she was in pain so he just lay on the other side of the bed. He couldn't bear to see her like this, but he didn't turn away, just watching, worried. He closed his eyes for a moment, blinking away the tears as another scream ripped out of her. He put a hand on her arm, rubbing it gently. "Please, what can I do?" He saw her struggling to breathe and it killed him. He listened, nodding. Phil jumped up and ran to the medical room, afraid of leaving her alone for too long. He searched the room, looking for what Tyler had described, high and low, every cabinet and there was nothing. It was only after he'd torn apart the room that he realized she must have been lying to him. He ran back into Tyler's room, crying. Phil sat down next to her. "Please, don't make me leave again if there's nothing...I'm afraid if I leave you...you'll..." He choked back a sob.

When he'd been back so soon, she felt so horrible. "I'm sorry, I couldn't watch you so upset... Come here," she said, opening her arms so he could hug her. Truthfully, she felt awful about lying to him. "Nothing will happen... I told you that already. Nothing will happen while you're gone. If I was going to stop fighting this I'd at least do it while your here with me." she said, smiling at him slightly but secretly feeling ready to cry again. So as the tears began to spill down her cheeks she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't watch you so upset... I felt so bad that I couldn't let you help me." she said, snuggling up to him and closing her eyes, trying to ignore the pain. Since he'd left, it had been amplified by about 10 times, it seemed that not having any comfort, and feeling so bad had made the pain much, much worse.

Phil wrapped his arms around her instantly, pulling her in close to him. "Don't be sorry...just don't lie to me..." He squeezed his eyelids shut, holding back more tears. Phil put a hand on the back of her head and rested his own on her shoulder. "You're not going to stop fighting." He said weakly. When she began to cry he couldn't help his tears from starting to fall as well. He held her tight and shook his head slightly as she spoke. "No, Tyler...please, don't...I need to be here with you..." He held her hands again, letting her get as cozy as she could next to him on the bed. "Please, let me help you..."

"I want you to help me, but I want to help you too. We're helping each other." she said as they hugged. She looked up at him and wiped his tears away, with a small smile. She didn't remember ever believing Phil could cry. But since he'd laughed with her, been angry with her and even when they'd kissed, she should've known better. She let out a small sigh and then nuzzled up to him a little more. "We're helping each other. Yeah?" she asked him.

"You're the one who needs the help." Phil laughed slightly through the tears, trying to smile. He adjusted his arms around her, putting his head on hers and cuddling up to her. "Alright...helping each other..." Phil began stroking her hair as he held her. "How are you feeling?" He'd been afraid to ask but his worry got the better of him, he had to know.

"I didn't want anybody I loved going through that." she said, smiling back a little. She knew how he was feeling right now and she was trying her best to make him feel better. She knew she was being selfless, but it didn't matter. He was the only concern she had right now. And if he couldn't forgive himself... how could she? Her smile grew just a little when he rubbed her back. He was trying his best to comfort her and it made her feel happy.

Phil smiled when she said that she loved him. It was a strange feeling, being loved like that, but a fantastic one none the less. "It wasn't that bad..." He still resisted. He was far more concerned about her than he ever could have been about himself. "Just rest up, alright? You'll feel better soon..."

"I know you say it wasn't bad, but either way it was something I didn't want you to live with." she smiled. When he asked her to rest, she shook her head a little bit. "That could be risky." she said quieter, trying to relax her breathing and refocus herself away from the pain that had begun pulsing through her heart. She fixed the blanket over them and closed her eyes. She laid her head down on his chest and smiled a little, feeling his heart beating. It felt good, knowing she had prevented him from feeling any more pain.

**She had saved this heart, and she was glad for it. **

"I lived with it for a couple years...I got used to it..." Phil understood what she was saying but still didn't want to concede. When she pulled the blanket over them he adjust his arms around her, keeping one on her back and moving the other to the back of her head as she lay her head on his chest. "Then don't sleep...just rest..." He whispered to her, stroking her hair.

She sighed and nodded a little, accepting what he was trying to say." Alright, I'll rest if you do too." she smiled a little and wondered what he might be thinking. She didn't have the energy to waste to check, so she didn't bother. He was probably thinking whether it was his fault or not and that made her feel rather bad.

"Rest? How could I possibly..." Phil smiled gently. "I'd rather watch you rest." He gently moved her head so that it was resting against his neck and continued stroking her hair. "Close your eyes and rest a bit...you need it...you deserve it..." He wouldn't say it out loud but he thought, '...and I don't...'

She giggled a little. "Watch me rest? That sounds kind of stalker-ish, but adorable at the same time." she grinned. She looked at him for a moment and seemed to know how tired he was. "I may deserve it, but you do too." she said to him. She wanted them both to rest, but that was easier said than done with them worrying about one another too much to take their eyes off one another. She nuzzled up to him a little more.

"Well, I'm glad it sounds adorable as well as stalker-ish because I would hate for it to just sound stalker-ish." Phil smiled back at her, happy that she was smiling. He shook his head at her next comment. "No. You just rest." He secured his arms around her, supporting her head with one arm and the other around her back, rubbing softly.

_[She finally agreed after a bit more time arguing her point. When she woke in the morning, it was not as she expected.]_

She opened her eyes slowly, and looked around her in a daze. She felt arms around her. She turned a little and saw him there. She smiled a little and was about to sit up when something took her breath away. The agonizing pain was back. She tried to stand, and when she did she grabbed the dresser next to her to keep herself upright. She took a step and practically fell, letting out a scream. She tried to get up again, and started trying her best to walk. She made it to the door when she felt his hands on her shoulders from behind. She had one hand around the door knob and the other against the door frame. She began struggling to open the door and another scream ripped out of her. She fell to the floor.

Phil felt her relaxing in his arms. She eventually fell asleep and he stayed awake as long as he could, feeling her chest rise and fall as she breathed. At some point he was too tired to keep his eyes open and drifted off. Waking up to a scream of pain wasn't comforting. Phil's eyes shot open and he immediately saw Tyler on the ground, in pain. He jumped out of the bed and went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders to try and help. She fell again and he tried to catch her. Phil picked her up in his arms and brought her back to the bed. He cradled her in his arms, one hand on her head and another on her back. "Oh, god, please be okay..." He whispered to no one in particular.

She felt him picking her up and struggled just a little. He set her down on the chair and was now crouched in front of her. She gasped for breath and looked around frantically. "Something... I need something for the pain…" she coughed. She attempted to get up again but it was no use. She felt like she hadn't slept in years, her head and chest had piercing pains and her finger tips were numb. So this is what he went through, she thought. It was like hell on Earth. She blinked a few times and then stared blankly at him, wondering what to do. She tried to read his mind but her exhaustion made it impossible. So she just sat back on the chair and tried her best to stop the flood of tears. She didn't make a sound as tears dripped down onto her cheeks.

"But you said that nothing..." Phil looked around the room quickly, trying to determine what was there, what could help. He didn't know enough about medicine to know what could help her, especially with her unique situation. He looked at her sitting there, completely exhausted, in pain, crying, and tears came to his eyes. He tried to wipe away her tears. "Please, I don't know what you need...I don't know what will help..." He blinked back the tears.

"Maybe... what did they use to ...stop your pain?" she asked, grimacing a little and shifting in her chair. She tried once more to get up but her legs weren't working all too well. She couldn't feel much else apart from the pain. She felt exhausted, like she hadn't slept in years. She was weak and dazed and dehydrated and scared. She looked around frantically hoping to see something that might be of help to her; but she found nothing in sight. She stared at him with a blank expression. What were they going to do?

It was killing Phil to see her like this again. But this time she was scared too. He could see the fear in her eyes. "I...I don't know...I wish I did...I..." Phil stood and rushed to a cabinet, opening it a pulling out some bottles. He brought them to her. "Any of these?" He was desperate now. He didn't know what to look for so he'd bring her every bottle until one of them would work.

"You don't... remember what they used?" she asked him softly. Some part of her had thought he'd know what drug they'd used to keep him from this pain. She managed to get to her feet and started going towards the cabinets, using the tables as a balance. She opened one cabinet and took out bottles, looking at the names. "Maybe try find one that makes you sleep?" she said, putting the bottles on the table in front of her once she'd checked the names. She turned back to him and sighed a little. "Is it weird, that I'm scared?" she asked him, her voice a little shaky.

"I...I don't know what it was called...when I was in the hospital I'm pretty sure I was on morphine in the IV...that's the pain you're feeling. The pain I had after I was released..." Phil went through some more cabinets. "...it was nothing...and the medication they gave me really only took the edge off...it didn't stop the pain..." He found a bottle that looked promising and walked over to her. "How about this?" He furrowed his brow and frowned slightly when she spoke. "God, no..." Phil wrapped his arms around her. "That's normal...you have every right to be. You should be more frightened than I am, but somehow I think it's the other way around..." He let out a rueful chuckle, trying to make both of them feel a little better.

* * *

Phil put her down on a bed and watched as the nurses and doctors surrounded her, doing what they could to help her. He heard her coughing, and each cough sent a horrible stab into his heart. He couldn't bear to see her like this, but he couldn't leave, couldn't leave her there. "It's going to be okay." He didn't know that, but he told it to her anyway. He gripped her hand tightly when she grabbed his. He put both hands on it. That was the most he could do while the doctors and nurses were around her. They put a tube down her throat to help her breathe and Phil grimaced as he remembered a time when there had been one down his own throat, faintly feeling it there even though it wasn't. "You're going to be fine."

* * *

Phil took the paper from Sinder. He read it and his face fell. He looked up at her sadly. "But you're getting help..." He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, trying to soothe her. Then a nurse came over with a sedative and gave it to her. While she was out they worked on getting the blood out of her lungs from what Phil could see. There was a period of time when he couldn't be near her and he was forced to wait out in the hall, it was torture. Eventually he was allowed back in and he took a seat next to her, holding her hand again.

* * *

"Well, I'm glad you're optimistic." Phil chuckled. "But please don't push yourself. If you need to stay, then you should. And I'll be here." He didn't want her to hurt herself due to stubbornness. He'd done that after his injury and it had only wound up with him having to stay in the hospital longer. When she let go of his hands, he looked up at her again. "What is it?" Phil wasn't quite sure what to think. He had no idea what was coming. But she had said something about ruining the moment and he didn't know if that was a good thing. Still, he wanted to hear what she wanted to say, always.

"Good." When she started talking about the IV, Phil chuckled a little. "I'm not overly fond of them either...or hospitals in general." He really did hope that she hadn't gone through as much pain as he had. His had lasted just under a year, but he still didn't want her going through that horrible pain for even a second. "Well, I very nearly did. Us old folk have weak hearts, you know." Phil smiled at her but then put a hand up to her cheek and stroked it. "You didn't put me through anything. If anything, it was me putting you through it." He ran his thumb over her cheek.

Phil spoke to Fury before joining the other agents. There was a large team of infiltrators, heavily armed. He got their locations and headed out towards the gunfire. When Phil got there he got under cover quickly. There were several gunmen and one agent down already. He got a few shots off and went back to cover.

_And that's when he was shot._

Phil looked at her, calming himself down silently. He could feel the blood surrounding him, pooling underneath him, and horrible memories of his last injury came back to him. His breathing was becoming shallower as the blood started infiltrating his lungs. He made a choking noise. Phil couldn't reply to her as she spoke to him but he held onto her arm, his hands covered in his own blood. He felt her enter his mind and he could do nothing as he slipped into unconsciousness. The other agents had alerted the med bay and a team of paramedics arrived in a few minutes, taking Phil away on a stretcher, to the med bay, and into surgery.

* * *

Phil could see how upset she was. He closed his eyes as her hand stroked his cheek and a tear came out. "I'm sorry..." He repeated. "I did this..." He didn't want to see her like this. "No." He got out, cutting her off almost. "No...I'll be fine..." Talking was exhausting. He was struggling to breathe even with the help of the oxygen mask. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness again and searched for her hand just before going.

* * *

"I'll be fine...Tyler...you are helping...just being here..." Phil stopped talking just to breathe for a bit. He nodded slightly, he was exhausted from the combination of the medication, the toll the wounds were taking on his body, and the talking. He continued running his thumb over her hand. "It wasn't...it wasn't your fault..." He closed his eyes and relaxed. It wasn't long before he fell asleep again.

* * *

Phil smiled as she finally fell asleep, happy that she would be getting some rest. He continued stroking her hair and just watching her. She did look peaceful sleeping there. The day went by, Phil drifted in and out of sleep. The nurses came in to check his vitals, change his IV's and his bandages. He was amazed that she could sleep through it, but glad at the same time that she wasn't disturbed. He fell asleep again and the next time he woke it was the next day. He saw her sitting there reading and heard the tune she was humming. He gathered some breath and hummed a couple bars with her before it was too much. He smiled at her. "Good book?"

* * *

"Are you sure?" He wanted to be sure that she was perfectly fine because in the condition he was in now he wouldn't be able to help her. "Well...I can make room on the bed." Phil smiled at her and slowly shifted his body over to one side of the bed. "See, there." He patted the bed gently. "You are...the most special thing that's ever happened to me..." Phil smiled at her. "I wasn't big in dating, Tyler...not enough time for a fully-fledged social life..." He chuckled.

**[Steve cameos here x2]**

Steve nodded slightly, grabbed his shield and sat down in the chair nearby. "Do you mind if I stay for a bit? Oh, and not at all." Steve nodded slightly in acknowledgment. He sat and watched the two of them sleeping for a little bit before taking out a sketchpad and beginning to draw. Steve drew for a while. When she woke he smiled at her kindly and nodded.

Phil continued sleeping peacefully. During that time a doctor came in, seeing Steve was the only one there he spoke to him. "We've scheduled Mr. Coulson for a blood transfusion in two hours." He left again once Steve nodded to him, looking over at Phil with a grim look on his face. When Tyler came back, Steve stood up and faced her. "A doctor came. Agent Coulson has a blood transfusion in about two hours. Oh, and whatever you feel is appropriate, ma'am." Steve said. He moved to the door. "I'll leave you two alone and I'll make sure Tony doesn't interfere either." He gave a small smile before exiting with his shield.

* * *

"Not at all, Ty... I've done...so many interviews...and I've dealt with...much worse than you..." Phil smiled at her. He thought about her question for only a second before replying. "Yes..." He had gotten used to all of her questions. Even if they were sometimes difficult to answer, he would always answer them. "Yes...I think we would..."

* * *

"If you were willing...to do that for me...even knowing the consequences...then it would have happened...either way..." Phil smiled at her. "I thought we were...getting along rather well...even without that..."

* * *

"You really think so? I mean, if I hadn't done that, how would we have sat like that in the hall? You wouldn't have realised how you felt like you did then." she continued, kissing his cheek and lying closer to him. "Maybe it would just have taken longer to happen." she sighed.

"It still...would have happened..." He smiled at her, putting his hand on her leg. "I would have realized it...sooner or later..." He assured her.

"I guess... but it would've taken so much longer." she agreed, smiling at him. "I just wonder sometimes, what life might have been like... If I hadn't done that." she lowered her eyes, smiling. It really made her think, and truthfully it had even kept her up all night a few times. Did it ever keep him awake, she thought. "Do you ever think about stuff like that?" she asked, tilting her head a little and frowning.

"It would...be less painful for you..." Phil said. Bad joke. He moved on, ignoring what he'd said. "Like what?" He asked, not entirely sure what she was talking about. "Like...about you and me?" He looked at her, smiling. "Of course..."

She frowned a little, then shrugged. "I think life would've been really... weird, if all this didn't happen. If I hadn't gotten caught where the hell would I be right now, you know? Like, what would happen to us if we'd never met." she sighed and snuggled up to him a little. "You think about it all the time too?" she smiled.

Phil listened to her. It seemed like she thought about these sorts of things frequently. He thought it was cute. "But we did. The rest doesn't matter." He nodded slightly and smiled. "I think...how in holy hell... did I wind up...with such an intelligent...gorgeous woman like you?"

* * *

Phil was going to respond but the doctor came into the room. He looked to him and then back at Tyler. He smiled at her in reassurance, knowing he was still worried. "Okay...I'll try not to..." He kept smiling at her as Tony came into the room and dragged her out, wishing him luck as he did. A couple nurses wheeled him to the operating room and he was put under. The transfusion went well and he was taken back to his room a couple hours later. The anesthesia was still wearing off and he was unconscious but looking healthier.

After an hour out with Tony, she was glad to finally get away from his constant joking. She was waiting beside Phil as he woke up. She smiled sweetly. "Good morning, Agent Coulson." she said when he finally woke. She was glad everything had gone well, and when she doctors had allowed her back into the room she couldn't have gotten inside fast enough. She could tell he was feeling way better and it was a great relief to know that.

Phil opened his eyes slowly, wincing at the light until his eyes got used to it again. "Agent Coulson?" He chuckled. "Isn't that a bit formal?" He felt much better than before. The oxygen mask was gone and he wasn't as tired as he had been before. He smiled at her and reached a hand out for her to take. "Oh yes, it's definitely too formal. How about just a normal "hello dear" instead?

She was delighted he had no oxygen mask, which meant everything must be going well. "I couldn't wait to get back and see you. Tony literally had to keep me seated for the whole hour because he knew you were still during the transfusion." she laughed.

"That's sounds better. I like it." Phil smirked at her. He took her hand and kissed her palm. "You shouldn't have worried. And you shouldn't stay in here the whole time either."

* * *

"I loved it, in fact." He looked at the clock after her. "Oh...I guess so..."

When she kissed him again he brought his hands up to her face and kissed her back, making it last longer. Instead of breaking the kiss, the kissed deeper, resting her arms on either side of him. She eventually and slowly pulled away, smiling at him as their foreheads touched."I loved it too." she smiled sweetly and kissed his nose.

When the kiss finally ended, Phil was smiling. "Good. Because I'm going to be doing that quite a lot." He put his hand to her cheek and stroked it with his thumb.

"Oh? Well, I'm not going to object. That'd be pointless seeing as I love every second of it." she smirked. She put an arm around him and rested her head gently on his shoulder before sighing. "We really are a rather strange match, aren't we?" she grinned.

"Only just a bit." He smiled and put moved his hand to her head, playing with her hair. "But we work, and the rest doesn't matter."

* * *

"Part of my job is to have workable theories on everything, so that's not surprising." He smiled at her. "Oh, I'm well aware. A grown child genius, whose mind never progressed past puberty." Phil ran his hand over his stubbly chin. "I need a shave..."

She was always one to smile, but something about the way he ran his hand over his chin made her burst out laughing. "Okay, I'm sorry but that is the cutest thing ever!" she said through her giggles. "I remember one time I did that to Tony. He gave me the death stare. You wouldn't give me the death stare if I did that to you, would you?" she asked with a smile.

Phil grinned at her. "Cute?" He did it again. "I didn't think I could be cute." He shook his head. "No, of course not. Go right ahead." He stuck his chin out towards her.

She grinned and ran her hand gently over his chin. "That's so cute." she shook her head and kissed him. "Why are you so adorable?" she laughed.

"I'm not adorable." He chuckled. He rubbed his stubbly cheek again. "I'm just used to having shaved...so letting it grow out is a bit strange..." He smiled at her and kissed her gently.

* * *

"I'm all expectation." He said, wondering what it was that she was talking about. He turned his head to face her. "It won't happen. Don't worry." He smiled at her reassuringly.

"I know it won't happen, but now I'm scared to make you laugh!" She shook her head and smiled. "And no? You still haven't figured it out yet? Well then darling, you have a very clean mind." she chuckled.

Phil chuckled. "Laughing isn't that bad. It's just that when my chest shakes my wounds hurt. Though, you know, they say laughter is the best medicine." He smiled. "No, I haven't figu-" Realization came over his face. "Oh." He blushed, embarrassed he hadn't known what she was thinking of.

She smiled wryly as he figured it out then started laughing. She kissed his temple and grinned at him. "You are so simple minded. God I love you. You're so oblivious to things like that." she shook her head and giggled a little.

"I just...well..." He was still blushing. "I've not really had many relationships...haven't had the time...and well..." He looked at her with a sheepish smile on his face. "You're my first really serious relationship...I suppose." Phil smiled at her. "I guess I just...I still have a hard time believing that anyone could care...because nobody ever did." He ran his hand over her arm and smiled at her again.

She nodded, perfectly understanding what he meant. But looking at him now, she still couldn't picture him like her; a neglected child. She did her very best to hide it, but as she began to picture how similar their childhoods had been it made tears sting her eyes. She still smiled though, knowing she'd cried enough tears already to do her a lifetime. "The past doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is this guy," she pointed to him, "And this girl." she pointed to herself, then kissed him gently.

"Nothing else matters." Phil saw the water in her eyes and he furrowed his brows, not wanting to see her upset. She spoke before he could and he smiled at her words. "You're incredible, you know that?" He kissed her back. "And absolutely right too."

She smiled and lowered her eyes. "I'm not incredible. I'm not even close. I'm just the grown up version of a very scared and lonely little girl who used to think there was nobody out there who was going to love her. But look at what happened. That little girl who used to hide in a corner every day with a blanket and flashlight was wrong." she whispered, trying to keep the tears from spilling over. She kissed him again and smiled. "But as long as I have you... I don't think that little girl exists anymore."

"Let me tell you something I haven't told anyone." Phil smiled at her. "My dad and mom...they were never around. I grew up with nannies. I actually became multilingual because my nannies spoke different languages." He lifted a finger to clear the water threatening to leave her eyes. "I didn't have friends. I didn't have my parents to look up to. So, I had Captain America. I would sit in my room in my home made Cap costume, reading comics or playing with action figures. I never expected to have friends...I still don't, somehow...I would talk to Cap like he was there, ask advice...nobody ever answered." He kissed her back. "That was a long time ago...but somehow that unloved little boy has always been around...I think he might finally leave me alone soon."

* * *

Phil laughed at that. "Nice try! Experience comes with age and age with experience. You can't separate the two." He looked at her and nodded. "Well, go on then." He was curious as to what she was going to tell him now.

"Before I knew you, I actually dated Captain for a bit." she grinned. She could practically see the surprise on his face and it made her laugh. "Nothing really serious. Not like you and me, no. Not even close." she shrugged and then laughed again. "Don't worry though I much prefer you." she smiled reassuringly.

Phil's mouth dropped jokingly. "No way. I'm jealous." He was surprised though, even while he joked. "That's weird. He's even older than I am! Granted, he looks about twenty-five, which is completely unfair...but still." He smiled at her. "You prefer me? What's wrong with you?" He chuckled.

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah it's true! You have every right to be jealous too, mind you. It was a short thing though, before I discovered you guys. Totally mutual break-up though." she smiled. "And of course I prefer you, silly. Why else would I be here talking to you about this? If I didn't prefer you I'd be in with Cap right now."

Phil smiled. "You know...if Cap was gay..." He joked with her. "I am jealous. You and my childhood hero?" He kissed her cheek. "Well, I'm glad you prefer me, but really? You gave up Captain America?"

* * *

Phil smiled at her and put his arm over her as she covered them in the blanket. He couldn't turn on his side to hug her properly because of his wounds, but he could do that much. He was starting to drift off when he hear her whisper. "It's no use...thinking about that...because things are how they are now...and that's never going to...go back and change..." Phil kissed her cheek and fell asleep a few seconds later.

She felt it when he fell asleep. That little constant buzz in her head had faded the moment he'd drifted. It was something truly special that only seemed to work with him. She glanced over at him smiling, then closed her eyes to sleep. But it didn't go too well. About two hours later she was awake again, staring once more at the ceiling. But this time she had a frown on her face. Something didn't feel right. She looked at him: No, he was fine. Something... Her eyes widened and she gasped, feeling her brain burning. She was always a calm girl, and even now she was still rather relaxed. It just hurt a lot. She remembered then. The headaches. They were a side effect of her abilities. As she got older, they would grow steadily worse. Had she told him yet? The lights above them seemed too bright and under the bed seemed far too dark. She slowed her breathing and closed her eyes.

Phil slept deeply, partially from the medication that they had him on and partially just from the exhaustion of anything he did because of his injury. Still, he stirred when Tyler gasped. He didn't wake, but that little noise set off another nightmare. After another ten or fifteen minutes he woke with a little yell of pain, in a cold sweat. Phil looked around, remembering where he was and then looked over to Tyler. She appeared asleep, but he could see the pain on her face. No, she was awake. "Tyler?"

She glanced at him for a moment and shook her head. "Just go back to sleep Phil." she managed to say, her face crinkled in pain. She winced a little and cursed. "It's a... side effect from the abilities. I should've explained this to you better, I'm sorry." she sighed. She turned to face him and pursed her lips. "As I get older, the pain will get worse. Hence why I don't sleep very often. It wakes me up." she admitted.

Phil would have gone back to sleep if he hadn't seen her face twist in pain. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Tyler, what's wrong." The explanation was something he wasn't expecting. He knitted his brows in worry and wrapped his arms around her as best he could. "Oh, baby...you should have told me." He sighed. "There has to be something we can do."

"It won't make me stop worrying...but it'll help." He smiled softly at her. "Well, that's what I'm here for." He wanted to help her anyway he could. She'd already done enough for him and he felt like he needed to make it up to her somehow. He still felt guilty about what she had put herself through for his sake. "I'll help you with your problems since you've been helping me out with mine so well."

* * *

"That it is..." Phil smiled at her and held her close to him. He kissed her neck again and again, making sure to hit that one spot that always made her shift slightly.

She bit her lip, the pleasure of when he kissed her making her tingle. It felt amazing." I regret telling you that was my weak spot." She laughed.

"I would have found out sooner or later, you know." He smiled and kissed it again. "You know how you can make me stop." He suggested.

"I do... But I'm enjoying it too much." She smiled, laughing a little as he kissed her. "And maybe you'd eventually have found it... But I would've just denied it." She chuckled.

"I would've known. I can feel how much you like it. You relax completely for a moment." Phil kissed it again, feeling her relax against him and then tense slightly again.

* * *

"No pictures at all?" He smiled at her. "I'm still friends with both of them, so I've got some pictures."

"Well one. But I don't like looking at it." She sighed, kissing his cheek.

"Why's that?" He knitted his brows slightly when she said that.

She shook her head and kissed him, trying to avoid the question. "It's a long story and… I don't like talking about it. Doesn't matter, you're way more important." She smiled.

"Oh, okay." Phil kissed her back, not wanting to pry. "You know you can tell me anything though, right?" He kissed her cheek and rested his head against hers.

She nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah I know. Maybe when there's a good time for the story I'll tell you it." She said, resting her head against his.

"Alright." Phil smiled and hugged her. "Maybe this is a good time for us to get to know more about each other. You know, ask anything we want to ask?"

"Yeah I sure think so Two people can't really get any closer than we are after all, right?" She grinned, hugging him back gently, being careful of his wound.

"No, I don't think that they could." He smiled and kissed her gently. "Is there anything you want to ask me about?"

* * *

Phil held her as she cried, sobbed into his chest. He tried to calm her down, knowing she'd been through a lot with her father and it had affected her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her and kissed her cheek. "Shhh, baby, its okay. It's okay, he's gone." He rubbed his hand on her back. "It's just us. Just you and me...and our baby...well, maybe not yet but soon..." He kissed her forehead. "Don't cry."

She was letting out a lifes-worth of tears at one time. It was absolutely overwhelming, getting it all out of her system. She just couldn't keep the emotions in any longer. As he hugged her and calmed her, she felt something else in there with the other emotions. She felt cheated. "I-I didn't know he'd do that." She sobbed, trying to explain it to him. When he mentioned the baby it triggered more tears. Tears of regret. "We can't let a child share a world with monsters like him. I won't let any child go through that." She managed to say, another tear rolling down her cheek. How defeated she felt. Why had she brought him here? Why had she let that monster of a man, her _father_, anywhere near Phil? It was a bad idea. An idea she regretted ever having.

"Shhh, shhh..." He stroked her hair, letting her sob into his chest. He could feel her letting it all out and hoped it would help her calm down eventually. "It's alright. He's not here anymore. He doesn't matter." He hugged her tighter, ignored the pain in his chest and the weakness in his legs. "Yes we can, because for every monster like him, there's ten good, pure people in the world. And there's us, and I know you want this child. We'll always be around to help our baby. I won't let any monster come anywhere near." He rocked her side to side very gently.

"But I don't want to ruin how pure my baby is. I can't bring any child into such a world." She cried, her arms wrapped around him. "Go back to bed. I'm taking a walk, okay?" She said weakly. She kissed him gently and went out the door, closing it behind her. She came back a lot later than expected. She was still crying, and she was so scared. She came in and immediately hugged him. Even before she began explaining what happened, he knew who her father as and what he had done. Being old enough to actually fight him off was her only advantage, and she'd never needed it more than she had when she'd went for a walk. But still, she felt so horrible. So disgusting. "H-he tried to..." she began, crying. "I-I kept him away. But I think I killed him." She sobbed.

"Yes you can, baby. Of course you can. We'll do it together. This world's not as bad as you think it is." He kissed her cheek. "It's got us, it's got all our friends, how bad can it be?" He watched her leave the room, trying to follow her but his legs were too shaky to catch up. So, he walked back to the bed and sat, refusing to lie back down despite his aching chest. When she came back, he looked up at her. Phil wrapped his arms around her as she hugged him. He could barely understand her tearful ramblings. "Tyler, what happened?" He held her close and listened. "Shhh, shh. Where is he now?"

"I- I don't know I think h-he fell and I ran I don't know." she sobbed, hugging him close. "I panicked, and I told him to go away but he just wouldn't. So, I got angry..." she sniffled and let out a small sob. She hadn't meant to hurt him. Just get him away from her. But things didn't work that way anymore, she knew. She heard him yelling at her as she'd ran away. But she didn't know what'd happened to him. She hadn't look back to see if the shuriken had just scratched him or was it stuck in his heart like she'd planned in her panic. She tried to say something else, but her hands were shaking and she felt really hot, feeling dizzy. She was falling into shock, she thought in her mind. She was trying to explain what'd happened but words wouldn't come. So instead she just cried onto his shoulder and said she thought she killed him over and over again.

Phil stayed calm, stayed calm for her sake like he did so well, like he'd learned to do over the past thirty years of working for S.H.I.E.L.D. As she cried, he held her, talking to her soothingly, saying she hadn't done anything while she repeated the phrase over and over. He tried to imagine what had happened and each time he visualized it in his mind he couldn't see Tyler killing the man. He could see the man trying to hurt Tyler, Tyler running away, Tyler fighting back, but not killing him. He brought her over to the bed, sitting both of them down and holding her in his lap, stroking her hair. "Tyler, where is he now?"

"I- I left him outside. I had to fight back, he was going to hurt me." she cried. She saw no point in trying to calm herself. Better let it out now than to just keep it all pent up for later. "He told me he was glad I'd grown up." she sighed. He mightn't understand the phrase, but she definitely did. And it made her absolutely sick with anger and fear. "C-can we just leave him there? I just want to forget about it." she cried, snuggling up to him. "I'm so sorry this happened. I never should have brought him here, I'm sorry." she mumbled to him. Her hair fell down into her face but she didn't care. She couldn't really feel anything anymore, just anger. Anger and fear.

"I know, I know, baby..." He held her tight, rocking her gently. Phil didn't understand what she meant by that, but he was sure it was nothing good. The man had obviously scarred her horribly and Phil wasn't likely to forgive him for that anytime soon. "We have to at least tell someone where he is...they can stop him from coming back." He continued stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. "Shhh, shhh, don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry I can't get up and kick his ass for you right now." He brushed her hair from her face, putting his hand under her chin and lifting it so he could look at her face. "He doesn't matter, alright?" Phil kissed her gently.

* * *

"No, no, of course we shouldn't do that." Phil shook his head. "I wouldn't want to do that. If our child has them, then she has them and you should teach her how to use them. Though I won't object to you asking them to stay out of daddy's head." He chuckled. "There is so much good in you, Tyler. You just can never see the best parts about yourself." He nuzzled against her again, making sure to tickle her with his stubble. "Is it? Then maybe I'll have to abstain from shaving for a while." Phil chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Impossible." He smiled and nodded his head. "I was voluntarily mute for a few years."

She giggled again then smiled at him. "I don't see the good, you're right. And don't worry, I'll tell our little kiddo to stay out of daddy's head." she said with a wink. "You, not talking? That's like Tony not being smart. Impossible to imagine." she laughed. She kissed his cheek and then frowned a little. "You were just as cute when you shaved too, silly. It just tickles me so much." she said with a grin. She knew they would raise a brilliant child, one who didn't take anything for granted and... "Are we going to tell our child about ... our pasts? Because from what I've experienced I know that hearing those stories about your parents is just as damaging as experiencing them yourself." she said with a sigh. She bit her lip gently, trying to think of a way around it. "And I'd hate to lie about it too." she frowned.

"It's a good thing I see it." He chuckled. "Okay, good. Because daddy doesn't want them seeing the things he might be thinking about mommy." He grinned at her. "Tony is an idiot, actually. If he was really a genius he'd check JARVIS' programming occasionally and see that I added a new program allowing me to override Tony's orders any time we need to put him under house arrest." He smiled at her. "I like how you giggle when it tickles you." He brushed it against her cheek again. "I think we have time to think about that. But if we are, we're definitely going to wait until they're much much older." He pressed his lips against hers softly. "Then we don't have to lie, we just don't tell them everything until they're ready."

* * *

"Stop." He grinned, face still red with embarrassment. "I'm not at all. If you keep it up I will start pointing out everything about me that isn't perfect!" He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "No. I protect everyone on my team. During those missions you'll be just another agent, babe...but not really." He smiled. "Tony can go stuff it." He took the ice pack and pressed it gently to her bruise for her. "You should get that looked at, I think that cut is still bleeding a little."

"That cut can go to hell." she grinned. "It doesn't matter, it's just a stupid bruise that decided to hurt when I touched it." she smiled and laughed a little. "If you start pointing them out, I'll start saying all my imperfections. And there are lots of them, so I don't think you want to go there now, do you?" she grinned. She kissed his cheek and then gently poked her bruise with her index finger, biting her lip and wincing. "Jesus that hurts. Remind me not to do that again, okay?" she laughed.

"No, you should still get it looked at. Please? For me?" He gave her his best puppy dog eyes because while he was well versed in giving a stone cold, emotionless face, he was just as good with the opposite. "What imperfections?" He smiled softly at her. "We'll both be listing them off not listening to the other." Phil chuckled and took her hand away from her face. "Don't do that again." He smiled and kissed her bruise very gently.

* * *

"That doesn't make me exciting. That makes me...comforting." That seemed like the right word. He smiled back at her. "I miss eating food that wasn't made in a hospital..." He chuckled.

"Hospital food is the worst. I spend a lot of my life eating the stuff. I'd rather have eaten cardboard." she grimaced. "And no, I think you're exciting because I can feel it in you. In your blood. I know it's there, you just haven't seen it like I have yet." she smiled, kissing his cheek.

"Some hospitals are surprisingly good. The one that Fury had me in had pretty good food...but for a few months I was on a liquid diet, couldn't ingest solids." He chuckled. "Just a feeling then? And when do you suppose I'm going to prove how exciting I can be?" He smiled at her.

"Hmmm... I think maybe when you get out of here and we move in together. Maybe then you might start to shine." she grinned, kissing him. "No solids? Dear god, that's like torture!" she said, exaggerating her gasp and laughing a little.

"Maybe." Phil smiled and kissed her back. "I'm going to need a lot of polish to shine, baby." He chuckled and kissed her again. "Well, I couldn't move for the first few months. I could speak, but I couldn't chew and swallow because my wound was healing and...Well, it was all the way through." He grimaced unintentionally from the thought.

* * *

"What theory?" He smiled at her. "Of course it does. And who said I'm not calling you crazy? You are crazy, but I'm just saying that I appreciate that you said it none the less." He smiled again at the kiss, pressing his lips against hers hard and snaking his tongue into her mouth. "The fact that it's you makes it perfect." He kissed her gently again.

She laughed a little and kissed him back. "I don't see the perfections in me. All I see is a girl, who found the perfect guy who helps me be who she really is." she smiled. "That's the point. I can't explain the theory, because it just doesn't exist. There is no possible reason within the logic of this universe that I found you. It just... it's the best damn thing the universe has ever done for us." she grinned. "Me? Crazy? Okay yeah, a little. It's about time someone told you how great you actually are!" she said, kissing him again. She wasn't sure he felt it too, but when she was this close to him her skin always tingled in a warm, fuzzy way. It felt delightful, and it always made kissing him feel amazing. Even more amazing than possible.

"Well, maybe I can help you see those perfections?" He smiled at her and kissed her neck. He listened to her, still kissing it up and down. "A little?" He chuckled, breaking the kissing for a moment to speak. He loved the closeness that they had right at that moment, their lips pressed together, their bodies pressed together. It was incredible and while Phil had done this with people before, it had never felt like this. He'd never had that floating off the ground feeling like he could just drift off into space feeling with anyone else before. He leaned into the kiss, deepening it. "I love you." He muttered into her mouth as they kissed.

She smiled as they kissed, and listened as he said he loved her. That always warmed her heart. "I love you too." she replied, kissing him more. She had kissed him many times before, but it still made her heart race and her stomach swirl. She always blushed just a little, and everything just seemed to stop around them for the time they kissed. She grinned when he was kissing her neck and laughed. "Oh my dear god that tickles!" she giggled. "Damn stubble, knowing my weaknesses better than I do." she pouted, nuzzling him and kissing him again. "Is it just me, or does that always just make your heart race?" she asked, kissing him again so he could see. For her, it always worked without fail.

Phil loved the adorable way she blushed when they were kissing. It was cute. He chuckled when she said it tickled and did it again, just because he could. "The stubble has nothing to do with that. I found the spot." He said smugly, smirking at her. "Every time, baby." He smiled and enjoyed the feeling of his pulse rising, heart beating in his ears, and that floating once again.

* * *

Phil gladly leaned back onto the bed, still kissing her. His arms were around her hips and he chuckled when she started laughing. "I am most certainly in a weakened state. It's weaker than I am usually." He smiled and kissed her back again. He could feel her heartbeat against his, both of them beating quickly as they kissed. When they finally broke apart he was smiling, his eyes still closed. "It always does." He agreed.

"If I ever stop feeling that, it's because I'm dead." she smiled up at him and kissed him again. "You are not in a weakened state you twit, you just haven't been up and moving for a while! You'll be back to normality in a flash, don't you worry. Then we can really start our lives together." she said, nuzzling her forehead against his stubble and laughing quietly. "My god, that seems to tickle more and more every time I do it!" she said, frowning then smiling a little. "It feels nice. Nowhere near as nice as that kiss, but all the same, nice."

"Don't joke about that." He said seriously. "I'm going to die long before you do. Of old age, at that." He gave her a small smile. "It is a weakened state. I didn't specify how weakened, but it's weakened." He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "That's because each time you do it it's a little bit longer and scruffier." He grinned at her. "Well then, maybe I'll keep it around for just a bit longer."

"Why not joke about it? We may as well. Death isn't a bad thing, it's inevitable. So why not joke about the inevitability of it?" she frowned. She smiled back and laughed a little. "Weakened state my ass. You're fine." she laughed. She kissed him gently and smiled. "You don't have to keep the stubble if you don't want to. It's cute, but I like you without it just as much." she smiled, stroking his cheek.

"Because I don't particularly like to think about you dying, babe." Phil pouted slightly at her and then smiled again. "Hey now!" He laughed. "I was shot! Three times!" He kissed her back and smiled. "I'll keep it as long as you want." He rubbed his cheek against hers.

* * *

Me? Naw." He smiled back and when she kissed him his hands went down to her hips. "I thought it would be an interesting color for a flame." He ran his eyes over her face, then catching her gaze again. "You can do whatever you want with me, baby." He smiled at her and watched as she concentrated. "That'll be a fairly accurate guess, I think." He watched for the flame, curious. As she'd said, when the flames flickered on her hand, they were pure pink.

She smiled at the flame, then glanced at him. "Isn't it beautiful?" she mumbled, kissing his cheek and being careful not to brush the flames against him. "It deceives people. It's so beautiful, but so deadly." she explained, moving her fingers a little and watching the flame move with them. She decided to change its colour then, and made it a deep red. "It may not seem like real fire, but it is. I'm not going to burn anything unless I have reason though. Burning things gives me headaches." she frowned a little, displeased by her disadvantage.

Phil smiled as he saw the pink flame bloom in her hand. "It is." He nuzzled up to her. "Well, I'd never think a flame wasn't deadly." He chuckled. "I've had enough experience with them to know they are." He watched with interest as she changed the color. "You're incredible." He looked over to her and smiled.

She started laughing as the flames died. "Amazing? No. Just... gifted?" she smiled, snuggling up to him. "Once, I threatened to burn Tony. I did, but he didn't really feel it because hell, that man runs fast from flames." she grinned. "I've never actually seen it that pink before. Once, a long time ago it was nearly there. But that was a long, long time ago I can hardly remember it. But no, never that deep before. It looked really nice." she smiled, lighting it up again just to admire it. "Definitely a gift." she nodded.

"Nope. You're absolutely incredible." Phil smiled at her and pulled her closer to him. "Now that is really incredible." He chuckled. "He is quick when he wants to be." He raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Well, I'm glad I could help with that. I hope it was aesthetically pleasing to you." He kissed her cheek and watched the flame.

"Overly middle-aged? Come on, you can do bette

* * *

r than that." He chuckled. "If you were a year or two younger this would almost be illegal." He grinned at her. "Yeah, but you're also not the one worried about a potential cradle snatch. It turned out absolutely fantastically." He nuzzled against her cheek. "Both bones in my lower leg snapped. Took a year of healing and physical therapy for me to be able to walk on it again. Happened before I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. funnily enough." He put on a face of mock hurt. "I'm not dying just yet..." He pouted, giving her puppy dog eyes but then chuckled and smiled, kissing her back.


	2. The Five Year Pass

She was sitting at the table, finishing her drawing. She had a smile on her face, as her child sat in front of her. "Try to stay still sweetie." she smiled. "Don't worry, Daddy will the home soon." she reassured him, finishing her drawing and leaving it on the table. As she finished drawing, she reached over the table and picked up their little boy. "Oh wow, you're getting so big!" she laughed, turning to greet Philas the door opened. She picked up the sheet and pinned it on the fridge, and smiled to her husband. "Welcome home." she smiled, barely getting to look at him before their son demanded her attention again. She let him down to run around, but when he was on his own two feet she bent to his level and kissed his head. "Be a good boy Steve, daddy's probably tired." she smiled, handing him some orange juice and letting him run off into the sitting room. She turned to Phil, and kissed him. "How was work?" she asked, hugging him.

Phil was home from work at a decent hour almost every night now, except for when he was on assignments. He'd worked it out with Director Fury. Getting home for dinner most nights was something wonderfully new for Phil. He parked the car and unlocked the door, stepping inside. When he saw Tyler he smiled and kissed her cheek. He took off his shoes, arranging them neatly by the door, and hung his suit jacket on the hook nearby before going into the kitchen. "Daddy is wide awake." He went over to his son and picked him up, tossing him in the air gently and catching him, smiling as the boy giggled. "Hey there Stevie, does daddy get a kiss?" Steve kissed him on the cheek and Phil returned it before putting him back down. "It was alright. More paperwork. A meeting.

"More gullible? Oh god. If you want them to meet a very feisty girl who can whip them into shape, just let me know and I'll be in." She ruffled her son's hair as he ran past them giggling, and smiled warmly. "Our little angel, huh? Growing up so fast it's kind of scary." she kissed his cheek and took his hand, entwining her fingers in his. "While daddy relaxes, I'll serve dinner." she said to him, leading him into the kitchen and taking out two plates and a medium sized bowl for Steve. "How's Fury been? Haven't seen him in nearly a year now!" she chuckled.

"No, Tyler. You've got classes. Only half a semester left." Phil chuckled. "Besides, you'd probably scare them all away." He smiled at Steve and then at Tyler. "It is scary. I did the math. When he goes to college I'll be seventy. Christ." He frowned slightly but brightened at the kiss. He squeezed her hand gently and chuckled. "Daddy's relaxing, is he? Lazy bum." He helped her set the table anyway. "Oh, Nick's the same. Angry looking. Humorless. Hard ass. Nothing's changed."

"Oh shut up you." she laughed, starting to put the food on the plate. "Hey, go call Steve and tell him dinner's ready." she smiled, kissing his cheek and looking at him silently for a moment. "Doesn't matter whether Fury was drunk or not. I think he was just happy I got you to divorce your work." she teased, putting the towel she'd used to hold the hot tray over her shoulder. "You make such a great father." she smiled warmly and hugged him. "I love you." she whispered quietly.

"What'd I say?" Phil smirked. He went into the living room where Steve was playing. "Stevie, dinner buddy." The little boy ran to him and Phil picked him up, bringing him into the kitchen. "You think he was happy about that? Now I'm insulted. Here I was thinking he'd regret losing some of the time of his best agent." He chuckled, putting Steve in his chair and kissing her. "And you make a lovely mother." He smiled at her.

"A lovely mother? Hm, I'm not sure about that. Efficient, maybe. But lovely? Maybe not." she grinned, kissing Steve's head and smiling at him. "Alright, who's hungry?" She sighed contently, then frowned. "Oh, back in just a sec." she left the room for a few moments, then came back. She handed Phil a bottle of beer and winked. "Thought you might need it after all that Nick's been putting you through." she chuckled, handing Steve a fork so he wouldn't resort to using his hands again. "So, anything new going on? Any deaths, births or marriages?" she asked.

"Lovely." Phil insisted, kissing her cheek. "Lovelier than anything." He sat at the table and smiled at her across it. When she came back with the beer he chuckled and grinned at her. "You are an angel." He took the beer and cracked it open, taking a swig. "You know I don't drink a lot, but I needed that." He smirked at her. "You saw that didn't you." Over the years he'd gotten used to Tyler's mental abilities. He was still able to hide the confidential S.H.I.E.L.D. related memories from her, but everything else was open to her. He didn't want to hide anything from her, nor could he hide certain things. "Not that I know of." Phil smiled at her. "I've got a tentative assignment coming up in a couple of weeks."

"Oh, good luck with that then. I hope it isn't anything too dangerous though..." she smiled at him, looking at the food but not really eating it. There was a lot on her mind, and she didn't feel like eating much. But she still had a smile on her face, watching Steve playing with his food and giggling, like there was nothing wrong with the world. She loved his innocence, and the fact he had her eyes made it all the sweeter. She was deep in thought, then she frowned a little. "That reminds me... can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment? "She asked, raising her brow and getting up, going into the kitchen. "Okay, so I was looking up some stuff earlier when I got home, and I came across this page. Apparently a child that grows up with a pet, like a dog for instance, is really good for them. I was thinking, if we got Stevie a dog it might teach him responsibility and friendship." she suggested.

"Just the usual, snatch a target and bring him back for questioning." Phil smiled at her. "Similar to how I first met you actually." He started eating his food. "This is great, baby." He noticed that she wasn't eating her food and wondered why. When she still wasn't eating a little bit later he was somewhat worried. "Okay." Phil stood, giving Steve a kiss on the head, and followed her into the kitchen. He listened to her. "Who's going to take care of the dog though, Tyler? I'm working every day and you're taking your classes. We already have to hire a sitter for Stevie." He put his hands on her arms. "A dog might help, it might not. I never had a pet and I turned out alright. All Stevie needs to teach him that sort of thing is us."

She shrugged, and didn't look at him. Instead she looked to her side. She was bothered by it, for some reason. The fact he always worked and she was always at classes. "This isn't how I wanted Steve to be raised, Phil." she sighed. "We both said we'd raise him ourselves. And look at what happens. He's being raised just like you were: by some lady who isn't even related to us. I hate that." she said, moving away from him and going to the window, resting her head in her hands. She seemed very different, very bothered and distracted. Since Tony had gotten her the cure for the headaches just the year before, that was a ruled out option. She definitely wasn't pregnant again, she'd checked that morning. But she couldn't shake off a frustrated feeling. She was worried she might unintentionally take it out on Phil or even Steve, so she just tried to keep to herself. Sooner or later he'd find out though, she thought grimly. And what could she tell him? She didn't know what she could say apart from she just felt a bit bothered.

* * *

Phil studied her face, trying to get at what she was thinking, it didn't work. But he listened to her as she spoke and his brows furrowed at what she said. "Tyler, that's not how he's being raised. My parents weren't around at all. I'm home every night unless I have an assignment. Even if I had a normal job that's the way it would be. I'd be working from early in the morning to late at night and taking business trips for days at a time. And you finish school soon, you'll be graduating. Stevie's a happy kid, he loves us, and we love him, and that's all we need." He followed her over to the window and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, pulling her close to him. "Baby, what's wrong?" He could tell something else was bothering her.

"Hmm? Nothing." she mumbled distractedly. "Remember the day before we got married, I was really bothered by something, and we still never found out what it was? It's like that again, and it's starting to get me annoyed." she sighed, hugging him back just a little. She didn't mean to be distant and push him away or anything, she just didn't feel very affectionate. "I should really play with Stevie for a while." she said finally, moving away from him and going back to their child. She put on her best smile, and sat down in front of Steve, laughing and smiling. But on the inside she felt like just walking out, taking a long nice stroll on her own and... "Hey, I think I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back... later." she said to Phil, kissing his cheek and getting up. She put on her jacket, and smiled a little at Steve. "Bye bye sweetie, mommy loves you." she said, waving and then closing the door behind her.

Phil listened to her carefully, nodding slightly, continuing to hold her. "What's it feel like? Does it hurt?" He asked, worried. He knew Tony had supposedly cured her migraines, but what if they were coming back? He'd hated those few years of seeing her in pain and he didn't think he could stand to see her in more pain again. Phil kissed her forehead after she broke the hug. "Alright..." He watched her go back into the kitchen to Stevie. Phil followed them and watched them, smiling. It was when she said she was going for a walk that he really started to worry. Something was off, but he couldn't figure out what. As soon as she walked out the door, Phil picked up Stevie and put his shoes on, putting the kid on his shoulders. "We're going to go on a walk with mommy, okay?" Stevie nodded and shouted, "Yay!" Phil chuckled and went out the door, following Tyler, walking fast to catch up with her. "Tyler! Tyler, please wait up. What's wrong?"

* * *

"I will." Phil gave her a small smile and kissed her back. He looked to Stevie and then threw him up in the air a little, catching him again and listening to him giggle. He took him home, cleaned up from dinner, putting away the left overs, and had Stevie get ready for bed. He read him a few stories and then kept him company until he fell asleep. Phil kissed the kid's forehead and left the room once he was. He went to their bedroom and changed out of his suit, just stripping down to his boxers and climbing into their bed. He put on his reading glasses and picked up the book on his nightstand, reading from where he'd left off. He kept an eye on the time, trying not to worry. But when it got to be eleven he was worrying anyway. He put the book down and tried calling Tyler's cellphone. No luck. He heard it ringing in another part of the house. The next two hours were hell, he was worried out of his mind, pacing around, trying not to freak out. When the door finally opened he rushed over to her and hugged her. "Jesus Christ, Tyler." He hugged her tight. "Don't scare me like that..."

She hugged him back and frowned. "I'm sorry! I lost track of time, and I had to take the long way home because those stupid drunks were watching me. But I'm fine, so calm down." she said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. "I'm really sorry, I should have come back sooner. Are you okay? Is Stevie asleep?" she asked, taking his hand in hers and walking quietly up the stairs, careful not to wake their light sleeping son. She went into their room and sat down on the bed. "I feel really bad for worrying you like that." she sighed, kicking off her shoes and looking at him. "I promise it won't happen ever ever again. You should really implant a tracking chip in me or something." she joked, brushing her hair out of her face and taking off her shirt. "But I'm a strong girl, you know nothing would've happened to me even if I did get into trouble." she shrugged, taking off her jeans and then hugging him. "I'm really sorry."

Phil gave her a worried look. "Okay...as long as you're alright." He hugged her again, closing his eyes and holding her tight. He kissed her back gently. "He's asleep." He grasped her hand and followed her. "You forgot your cellphone...I was worried..." He followed her to their room and watched her on the bed. "It's okay..." He went over to the bed and sat down next to her. "I wouldn't do that to you." He chuckled. "Probably." He kissed her cheek. "I know, but I still worry. Because what if you ran into something that you couldn't handle and...If I wasn't there when you needed me I couldn't forgive myself..." He hugged her back. "It's okay...just take your phone next time."

"I knew I forgot something!" she said then, shaking her head. "I always forget my damn phone." she climbed under the covers then, glade for the warmth they provided. "Are you warm? I want to snuggle up to you but I'd feel bad for taking your warmth after making you so worried." she grinned and rested her head on the pillow, relaxing at last. Of course she hadn't mentioned the fact she'd also taken the long way home because she had temporarily forgotten the short way. She seemed to be forgetting things more often. Didn't matter to her though because she always remembered them in the end. "When you were at work I found something in the closet. My wedding dress. It still seems so strange, looking at it tucked away like that. As if it was never used. But then I remember it was, and it makes me the happiest woman alive." she smiled, kissing him.

Phil got under the covers himself shortly after she did. "I've told you this before, and I'll say it again. You can take my warmth anytime you want." He snuggled up to her, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his head into her neck. He smiled as she talked about her wedding dress. "You looked so beautiful in that dress, baby." He kissed her neck. "You've made me the happiest man alive." He kissed her back. "So, are you going to tell me what was wrong?" He furrowed his brows slightly. He knew not everything was alright like she was trying to pretend.

She sighed contently as he snuggled up to her, smiling a little. "That dress really was beautiful. I don't think I did it justice though." she blushed. "I'm not sure what's wrong, honestly. I just feel really... strange. Kind of in a bad way. Like, I feel strange whenever I'm with you because well, it's all tingly and warm. But lately I just can't shake off this bad feeling. Maybe it's nothing, I don't know." she shook her head a little and kissed his cheek. "Doesn't matter, it won't kill me or anything." she broke a smile and snuggled up to him a little more. "You tired? "She asked.

"Don't say that, you looked perfect in the dress and that dress looked perfect on you." He kissed her cheek. Phil listened to her talk, worried. Strange in a bad way wasn't something he liked to hear. If there was one thing he'd learned over the years it was to not take anything lightly, even if it was just a bad feeling. "Alright...just be careful, okay?" He looked at her worriedly, he held her closer to him. "New, I don't get tired, I work for S.H.I.E.L.D." He chuckled. "We don't sleep."

"Okay, I'll be careful I promise." she smiled. "Well, I'm a little tired. But I don't want to sleep just yet." she said, keeping close to him and kissing him deeply. "I know something that might make me tired though." she winked, laughing a little and putting her arms around him. She brushed her hair out of her face and kissed him again, grinning. "Still gives me butterflies you know. That's how I know I love you. Because it always feels amazing." she smiled and kissed him again. "Let's just hope Stevie doesn't wake up soon." she laughed.

"Oh?" Phil smiled back at her and when she kissed him he kissed her back passionately. He chuckled. "And what would that be?" He asked, knowing full well what she meant. He kissed her again and when she spoke he kissed her neck over and over, finding that one spot again. It never failed to get a rise out of her, and he loved that. "Stevie's out cold. He's a heavy sleeper." He smiled at her and kissed her again.

* * *

"We'll figure it out." He reassured her and smiled at the kiss. "I'm all for living in this moment." He chuckled and kissed her back, letting his tongue circle her lips as they kissed. Her hand was a little cold on his shoulder but he didn't mind at all, he loved the soft touch. He ran a hand up her shirt, running his hand over the smooth skin on her stomach.

She laughed a little and naturally she pulled away. "That tickles!" she giggled, kissing him again. She slowly moved off of him, but kept him as close to her as she could as they kissed. She gently traced her fingers down his chest, stopping at his stomach and smiling a little. She kept her arms around him, deepening the kiss. She could feel that warm tingle she always had when they kissed, making her heart race. Still nearly took her breath away, the amount of love she felt when they were close.

"Does it now?" He chuckled and ran his fingers over her stomach again. He grinned as she traced down his chest to his stomach. "Yours is better than mine." He smiled and kissed her back. It was an amazing feeling, and he could never get it anywhere else but here, kissing her. "I love you." He whispered to her.

She bit her lip and smiled at him. "I love you too." she replied, taking a moment to nuzzle her head against his and close her eyes. "I love you more than anything." she kissed him softly then, resting her hands on his chest and moving closer to him. She accidentally moved the covers down a bit, but she didn't notice. She deepened the kiss even more and grinned. "You always find the best ways of tickling me." she giggled.

Phil brought his arms down to her waist and held her against his bare chest. He kissed her back gently and smiled when she deepened the kiss. He kissed her again and again, smiling. "Do I?" He kissed her cheek and up to her ear, nipping at it and sucking on her earlobe.

She giggled and nodded, smiling widely. "Yeah you do! Not that I don't love it or anything..." she laughed, kissing him again and keeping close to him. "I hope I can make it up to you, for worrying you so much." she said, still feeling a little bad about it. "No doubt I can make you happy though." she winked.

"Oh, you know you love it." He grinned at her, kissing her back deeply. "You already have." He gave her a small smile. "Baby, you make me happy every second of every day of every week of every month...Do I have to go on?" He kissed her again and hugged her close to him.

"Well no, you don't have to. But I like hearing it so you can if you want." she laughed, hugging him. "Honestly before you, I don't think anybody had ever genuinely complimented me or been nice to me. Sure they'd say things like I looked hot and stuff but that was just random guys. Didn't mean a thing compared to what you say every day." she smiled and kissed him again. "I love you too, babe."

Phil chuckled. "You make me so happy that not even Tony Stark can ruin my mood anymore." He smiled at her. "Well, they're all stupid for not complimenting you because you deserve to be complimented every time someone sees you." Phil smiled at the kiss and kissed her back. "I love you more than anyone will ever know."

* * *

"Well then, I'm pretty damn old." He chuckled and cracked his back. "Give or take a few years." He smiled and kissed her back. "Are you sure? I think you were right about now being a hard time for it." He ran his hands up and down her back. "I would like to at some point...I was an only child and it was lonely, and I would like Stevie to have someone other than us...but maybe now's not the right time." He pulled down her underwear after he was done with his own and then reached into the nightstand and pulled out a condom, offering it to her.

She thought about it, really unsure. "I don't know... It would be great to have another little miracle. If I could handle the stress with Stevie, you in hospital and classes, who's to say I can't handle it again?" she frowned. "Sorry if I'm ruining the mood and all, but... I'm just not sure. I'd love it, but I'm not sure it's a good time. What do you think?" she asked, smiling just a little and kissing him. "We have time on our side too, for the most part."

"Well then, tonight let's play it safe." He smiled at her, opening the package and slipping it on. "You're not ruining anything, and I agree. We can talk about it more another time." He kissed her back and smiled. "Time might be on your side, but it's starting to turn on me." He chuckled and brushed himself against her stomach.

She smiled warmly at him, then kissed him deeply, pinning him down with her hands on his shoulders. "Let's make time slow down then, shall we? Just so time doesn't start to turn on you so soon." she grinned and kissed him again, then bit her lip as she looked down at him. "Love you." she smiled. "So... how about we wait another month or two until my classes finish, then we'll have all the time we need." she suggested, kissing his neck and laughing.

Phil grinned through the kiss. "Oh, it's already turned. We'd better hurry up." He chuckled and kissed her back. "I love you too." He nodded slightly. "That sounds like a good plan. I've got at least another year in me before I get far too old to raise a kid." He chuckled again and kissed her neck, moving down her body.

* * *

"It's only because you're the perfect wife." Phil smiled and kissed her deeply. "I'm not so great. And Stevie makes us better. I don't think it could get any better than this." He hugged her close and kissed her again.

"You are great! You're perfect." she smiled. "I'm far from the perfect wife though." she laughed. "Stevie... he makes us all the better. Like a stabiliser almost. If it got any better, I'd swear we were dead." she frowned for a moment then smiled, kissing him and snuggling into him.

"Are we going to do this again? When I tell you you're perfect and you say you're not and we both start listing all the reasons we think we're not perfect starting with this ugly ass scars I have?" He grinned at her and chuckled. "We'd better not be dead. I love this life too much." He kissed her back and rubbed his hand along her arm.

She smiled and laughed, shaking her head. "No, we are not doing that for the billionth time. Oh, hey remember our wedding night?" she smiled warmly and lay down beside him, still wrapped tightly in his arms like a safe cocoon. "It was surreal. We were so happy, so peaceful. It was really the stuff of fairytales." she laughed, remembering how good it felt to lie down beside him, finally his wife. "It felt almost as good as when you first said you loved me."

Phil chuckled and kissed her cheek. He nodded. "Yes, I do. Crystal clear." He ran a finger up and down her arm slowly, feeling her soft skin under his calloused finger. "I'm so happy right now. The fairytale hasn't stopped." He smiled at her. "And I'll keep saying I love you until it stops being true." He kissed her gently. "I love you." He kissed her again. "I love you. Still holds."

* * *

Phil laughed. "Really? You're expecting me to perform like that all the time? I think that was a fluke." He chuckled and kissed her back. "I do remember." He stroked her cheek gently and then kissed it. "I might not be able to do as well as I did then but you know I'll try." He smirked and kissed her again, his hand caressing her head.

"Fluke? No way, I just think it was celebration sex." she smirked and nuzzled him. "Oh yes, definitely try. You know what we should do in a few years? We should…If either of us can even remember the name of the place, we should try book one night in that same hotel, that exact room. Just for a night. Like...an anniversary thing. It might be nice." she smiled and kissed him back deeply, laughing a little.

Phil chuckled. "Well, yeah...that too..." He nuzzled her back. "Oh, I'm going to try, baby." He kissed her cheek. "You know, I like that idea. And I'll hold you to that. How about our tenth? That'd be nice." He kissed her again, leaning into the kiss and deepening it.

"It'd make it feel like our wedding night all over again," she sighed contently at the thought. "Tenth? Sounds great." she nodded and kissed him more, giggling. Tyler kissed his cheek before grinning up at him and trailing her fingers down his chest slowly. "And you used to think you'd get too old for this. Hah! Says the one booking anniversary sex for nearly six years' time!" she teased, kissing him laughed. "Really? You're expecting me to perform like that all the time? I think that was a fluke." He chuckled and kissed her back. "I do remember." He stroked her cheek gently and then kissed it. "I might not be able to do as well as I did then but you know I'll try." He smirked and kissed her again, his hand caressing her head.

"Except with a few more aches for me." He chuckled and kissed her back. "Tenth does sound great." He said it confidently. She'd be coming back, and they'd make it to their tenth. Phil smiled when he felt her hand on his chest. "Well, not too old for it. Maybe too old to handle it." He grinned at her. "Oh, not now, probably not in the next ten years...after that though, not too sure." He kissed her again.

* * *

"Alright. I'd like that." Phil smiled at her. "You'll always have us, baby. We'll always be here." He nuzzled back, Eskimo kissing her and chuckling lightly. "Oh, I'm very optimistic about the next ten years of my life. But I'm even more optimistic about the next couple hours." He smiled and kissed her deeply.

* * *

"I know, babe." He smiled back at her. "Of course not!" He chuckled. "I am. Very optimistic." He kissed her again and smiled. He helped her with her clothing. "Oh, I bet they will be. Don't remind me." He kissed her back and ran his hands up her side and one to her stomach.

Tyler giggled and kissed him, enjoying the warm sensation when she felt his hands on her stomach. Despite going away for a year, she wouldn't actually miss many things. The only thing she'd miss apart from Stevie was the laughter and tears she'd experience, her husband by her side. She would give anything to take that all with her. "You know I love you, right Phil?" she mumbled through the kiss.

Phil smiled back at her, leaning into the kiss and lingering on her lips just a little longer. "Of course I do, Tyler. And I marvel at that fact every day." He chuckled and kissed her again. "I love you too, sweetheart." He pulled her in closer to him, his hands moving up her back now, over her smooth skin.

"I just want to make sure you never forget it." she smiled and kissed him back, nuzzling him gently. "And I know we'll be apart for a long time, but just... as soon as or second little miracle is born, I'll get Maria to send him home to you. Just incase...Something happens." she suggested to him, kissing him again and trailing her fingers from his jaw to his shoulder.

"I can assure that I won't forget it. Ever." He nuzzled back and kissed her cheek. "You'll be home before that happens. I know you will." He kissed her back deeply.

* * *

"Of course it won't." He smiled and kissed her back. He put his hand over hers, running his thumb over the back of her hand. He furrowed his brow and frowned slightly. "Don't ask me that." He pulled her back down, hugging her close to him.

She lay there silent when he pulled her back, huggingback. But Tyler was lacking a component in the hug, it didn't feel right. She snuggled him but didn't smile much, kissing his cheek and closing her arms. "Why am I so scared? I've never been this terrified in my life..." She shook her head and looked at him."I really love you baby."

Phil furrowed his brow slightly when she spoke. He kissed her softly. "It's alright to be scared. But you'll be alright. You're the most resilient woman I've ever met." He smiled at her. "I love you too, sweetheart."

She kissed him back and listened to his words of reassurance."I have this...idea, in my head, that you won't remember me when I come home. That's what's scaring 're convinced Tyler died and I was like a doppelganger or something like that Angelina Jolie movie." she frowned."You know when they sent this other kid to pretend to be her son?Like that."

"Babe, I'll always remember you." He chuckled and shook his head. "There are ways to tell." He smirked. "Tony thought that for the longest time after my injury when I didn't die. Kept trying to get blood samples." He kissed her softly. "That's ridiculous and it won't happen, so don't worry."

"I pray you'll not I'll probably kick your ass." She smirked and cuddled him. She allowed him to kiss her and she kissed back, stroking his cheek. "Looking at you now...it's like when we first met. When you first noticed me smiling and you smiled back. I feel somehow like it should mean something, butdon't know..."she shrugged and kissed him again gently.

Phil chuckled lightly. "I'll remember. You know I will. It's only a year. I may be old, but my memory is fine." He smirked and kissed her again. He smiled as he felt her hand on his cheek. "We haven't changed that much in four years, have we?" He raised and eyebrow and kissed her back. "You haven't. You're as beautiful as ever, you're still spontaneous and fun to be around. And I love everything about you."

"Oh for Christ sake we're not going through this again. You are NOT old!" she laughed and cuddled him closer. "I'm not sure, Phil. Have we changed? I feel we have, but it's mostly for the better. Only one downside of couples changing in the time their together is the fact... Well, they might get a point someday where they don't see the person they married anymore." she explained, kissing his cheek. "But we're never going to get there. We're as happy and in love as two people can be." she reassured with a nod. Tyler blushed and nudged him. "Can't love everything about me, that's cheating!"

"Well, you're talking about me forgetting things like I'm senile or something." He chuckled and grinned at her. "I don't think we've changed that much. It's only bee four years, babe. That's actually not such a long time when you think about it. We've got plenty more time to change for the better." He kissed her softly. "But I do love everything about you. How is it cheating?" He laughed.

"Pffft, I was not!" she laughed and nudged him playfully. "I know it's a small time but... I've changed. I know I have. I'm more mature. Less... tempermental. I'm more open to you and loads more confident thanks to your never ending compliments." she smiled and blushed a little, kissing him back and deepening it ever so slightly. "It's cheating because I can't top that even if I tried! I love everything about you too but see, that doesn't sound enough now that you've already said it!" she laughed and kissed him again.

"As if I could forget you in a year!" He smirked. He listened to her and looked her over, smiling. "I suppose I haven't noticed it as much because I'm around you every day, for the most part." He smiled and leaned into the kiss. "It'll always be enough for you to just say you love me." He kissed her back, running a hand up her arm, softly.

"Well... Okay fair enough." she finally decided, kissing his cheek. "You haven't noticed? I'll show you. Remember how I was always shying away from you if you kissed me?" she chuckled at the memory. "Now I have no qualms about it. And as for that... temper of mine..." she grinned sheepishly. "It's still there, and sometimes I swear I could kill you." she smiled, and deepened the kiss, stroking his cheek.

"Fair enough?" He chuckled and smiled at her. "Yeah, I do...but that's just us being in relationship." He shrugged lightly. "I guess I just don't notice it as much." He grinned back at her. "Well, try not to. I wouldn't appreciate that." He kissed her back.

She laughed lightly and kissed him some more. "I'll try not to baby." she winked. Tyler rested her head on the pillow with a sigh of content. In two days, she would be in a cold and desolate place on her own, no family to guide her. For once in her life, Tyler was so scared that she was trembling.

Phil kissed her back and smiled. He just rested there with her, holding her close and trying to hold onto that feeling for as long as he could, knowing that in a few days she'd be gone and he didn't know when or if he'd see her again.

* * *

Phil woke around four o'clock. It was the usual time. He had to be at work by six and the commute was about an hour. He saw that Tyler was out of bed and he went around the house to find her. He passed by Stevie's room, seeing that he was still asleep. He finally found her in the kitchen and went up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Good morning. Why are you up so early?" He kissed her cheek and smiled.

She hadn't heard him come down, so when she felt him wrap her arms around her she nearly gasped. "Oh... I couldn't sleep. Just the same old thing really." she lied. She didn't want to worry him about the nightmares or the headache she had. Probably from lack of sleep, she finally decided. She turned to face him and put her arms around him, kissing him. "I'd go back to bed, but it wouldn't be any fun because I wouldn't get to cuddle upto you and sleep. I'm surprised I ever sleep anymore. Maybe it's because you're there beside me keeping me warm." she shrugged. "Enjoy work." she smiled.

Phil pulled back when she was startled. "Sorry, sorry, I thought you would have heard me." He looked at her sheepishly. "Couldn't sleep? Is everything alright?" He gave her a slightly worried look. He kissed her back and gave her a soft smile. "You should sleep. You've still got a lot of time before your classes, and you want to be awake for those." He kissed her again before going to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.

She decided to go with him, and laughed a little when he mentioned the classes. "I'm pretty much as awake as I can get Phil. Besides, I'd love for once to be able to say goodbye, enjoy work and give you a kiss before you go instead of a half-assed goodbye." she said, taking his hand in hers and stopping him for a moment. "Don't worry, I just wake up alot during the night. Nothing to be concerned about. I'm just used to being woken up about six times a night for whatever reason." she shrugged, smiling reassuringly and gently squeezed his hand.

"Those aren't half-assed." He chuckled. "They're quality goodbyes." He smiled and intertwined their fingers. "Tyler, we've been married for almost four years now. You never used to wake up this much. And after last night..." He gave her a worried look.

* * *

Phil didn't move from the couch. He didn't know what to do. The last time he'd seen Tyler like this was years ago, shortly after they'd first met. This wasn't normal for her. He knew that something was wrong but she was shutting herself off from him, he knew a stone wall when he saw one. He was shaken out of his thought when he heard her talking in the kitchen. He got up and walked in, managing to put on a smile for Stevie. "Hey there, big boy! You're up early, huh?" He went over to Tyler, giving her a look of 'this isn't over', before kissing Steve's cheek and smiling.

She raised a brow at him, and shook her head. "Yes it is damn well over." she whispered back, gently stroking her sons head before sitting down at the table. "It's far too early for you to be up little man, maybe you should go back to bed. Come on, I'll bring you." she smiled a little and wrapped him up her arms, cradling him as she walked slowly up the stairs to his room, singing his favourite lullaby to him softly. He was asleep in minutes, and she finally returned to the kitchen, hiding the tears in her eyes. "You're going to be late." she mumbled.

Phil shook his head right back. He wasn't giving up that easily and she should have known that. Before she took him back into his room he gave him another on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight, kiddo." He smiled at him and waved as Tyler walked away with him. Phil sat down at the kitchen table waiting for her to come back, thinking about what was going on. When she came back he looked up at her, face filled with worry. "Tyler, I don't give a damn if I'm going to be late. You're more important to me." He stood and went over to her, putting his hands on her arms. "Please...tell me what's wrong..."

"He tried to rape me, okay?" she said quietly, not looking at him. She pulled away roughly before taking her bag from the counter. "I'm going to Tony's for breakfast." she shook her head and brushed her hair from her face, putting her phone in her pocket and turning back to him. "And if you ever try force it out of me again Phil I swear to god I'll kill you in your sleep." she said, surprising herself by the harshness of her tone, but still meaning what she said.

Phil's face saddened immediately. He felt himself starting to tear, barely able to prevent himself from crying. He had no idea what she had gone through and wanted so desperately to help her but she kept pushing him away. When she ripped away from him he let her, seeing that she didn't want anything to do with him. He looked at her, near crying as she threatened him. "Tyler..." He said quietly. "Tyler, I'm sorry, baby, I just want to help you..."

* * *

"Ooh, I wouldn't recommend 'bugging' him. But by all means go and visit him with Stevie. Nick really likes him." He chuckled. "Mini me? Well, we've got half the agency betting he turns out just like me and the other half betting I train him to be a mini-Steve." He smiled at her. "Thing is, I'm running the meeting. As much as I wish I could skip over the boring parts, they're important. But seeing you and Stevie will be a fantastic reward." He kissed her softly. "Alright, alright. I'll just drive faster." He smiled back at her, straightening his tie and putting on his jacket before going to the door. "Sure, I can go over to Stark Tower and spend some time with the other Avengers, Stevie always likes playing with them and so do they. You'd be surprised how well Tony does with him, and Thor is strangely fascinated by 'Midgardian children'." He kissed her one more time before heading out the door. "I'll see you later."

"I'll see you later baby. Good luck!" she watched as he got into the car, waved and blew him a kiss. As he pulled away and drove off, she closed the door with a smile and went to check on Steve. He was still sound asleep, so she stood watching her little angel for a few minutes. She then returned to the kitchen, not really sure what to do. Her class wasn't for another long while, so she had lots of spare time. But she just sat there until it was time to get ready, helping Stevie out of bed and then heading off to class as soon as the sitter came. She returned at three in the afternoon, tired but happy. She took Steve to see his dad like she promised, and they sat chatting to Fury waiting for Phil to finish up.

"Thanks, babe." Phil climbed into the car, blowing a kiss back before pulling out of the driveway and starting off to headquarters. The drive wasn't incredibly long, but Phil had gotten used to it. He drove faster than usual, navigating in and out of traffic with quick precision and wound up getting into his office only two minutes late. Phil was never late, but nobody seemed to notice the two minutes. The meeting ran for two hours. It shouldn't have, it didn't have to. It would've lasted one hour if Tony hadn't started an argument. He always did though and somehow he managed to get Tasha and Bruce on his side as well. It took an hour to smooth things over and figure it all out. But it was finally over and Phil went to Nick's office to give him a report. When he saw Tyler and Stevie, Phil smiled at them, giving them both a kiss on the cheek and then handing Nick the file. "Hey, how was class?"

"It was great! We got told the most amazing thing today. For part of our studies, we'll be going to Paris for a week! Isn't that crazy?" she stood up and hugged him, kissing him and snuggling upto him. "Only four of the best students were apparently asked. And the weirdest part is the teacher asked me before anybody else!" she shook her head, still not quite believing it. "How was the meeting baby? I'll bet you a dollar Tony started a fight like he always does." she grinned, remembering her days at the meetings where Tony fought about everything and anything with anyone willing to disagree. She smiled warmly when Stevie got up and jumped at his dad, hugging him as tightly as his little arms would let him. Can't believe that little bundle of joy is mine, she thought happily.

"Paris? Wow, that's great, sweetheart." Phil smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back. Nick snorted and Phil gave him a sheepish smile. "Do you mind having Stevie around here a few days that week?" Nick shook his head. "As long as you get your work done, and you always do." The man wasn't smiling, but he could see the smile hidden in his expression. He'd known him long enough to be able to read him. "Oh, the meeting was nothing unusual. Tony acted true to form, you know I wouldn't take that bet." Phil grinned at Stevie, picking him up and hugging him tight. "Hey, kiddo! How are you doing?" The kid kissed his cheek and replied. "Great! Can I see Uncle Clint and Aunt Tasha today, daddy?" He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, they're looking forward to seeing you again. Had enough of Uncle Nick, huh?" Stevie looked over at Nick with wide eyes and shook his head. "No, I like talking to Uncle Nick!" Nick chuckled lowly and ruffled Stevie's hair. "I think you've talked to me enough for one day." Stevie grinned and gave Nick a hug before clinging onto Phil again.

* * *

"Stark?" Phil chuckled. "Oh god. Tony won't have any of it done, you know. Stark doing paperwork? That's something I'd like to see." He leaned into the kiss, fitting his lips into her, holding on as long as he could. When they finally broke apart, Phil smiled at her. "Yes, it sounds like a plan." He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he did need a week. He needed just a week to unwind, stress free, without having to worry about the Avengers or the giant robots running rampant in the city or Doctor Doom attacking the Chinese Embassy.

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah I know, he got the worst possible person, I'm sorry." she smiled. "Come on then, let's go! We need to go home and get packing. Plane leaves in three hours." she said, letting go of his hand and moving to the door, opening it and raising her brows as if to say, 'well, are you coming or not?' When he finally stood she beamed at him, taking his hand again and going down the hall with him. "This is going to be so much fun." she sighed contently, glad to be able to relax with him for a week.

Phil chuckled and smiled back at her. "Three hours?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, that's soon." He blinked before stand up and following her out of his office, glancing back at his desk before closing and locking the door and resetting the number code combination. He held her hand and walked with her. "Fun...remind me what that is again?" He chuckled and walked into Nick's office where he was playing with Stevie. "Mommy and daddy!" Stevie cried out, grinning at them. Phil went over and hugged the kid tightly.

Tyler stayed a step behind as Stevie clung to his father, but she smiled warmly at him. "Wow, you'd swear we've been gone a century the way this little guy's hugging you." she laughed. She went to Fury's side and mumbled something to him, earning a nod from Nick and a smirk. "Alright, I already told Stevie that mommy and daddy are going away for a week, that we'll be back next Friday and we'll bring him home something special." she smiled, kissing Steve's head and tickling him. "I gave Fury all the necessary stuff, and some of Stevie's favourite toys so he doesn't die of boredom from ending up reading classified files lying around the office." she chuckled. "Okay well, I'll see you all next week! Come on, let's go pack." she smiled to Phil.

"If I was gone that long I don't think I'd recognize this kid anymore." Phil chuckled and hugged him tight, loving the way Stevie's little arms could just barely reach around his neck. He turned to Tyler and smiled before kissing Stevie's cheek. "I'm going to miss you a lot kiddo." He hugged Phil even tighter. "Do you and mommy have to go?" He whined. Phil kissed his forehead. "We'll be back soon and you can call me anytime you miss us, okay?" He handed Stevie over to Tyler, kissing him one more time. When she was done saying goodbye he thanked Nick and left the room with Tyler, giving Stevie a little wave and warning. "You listen to Uncle Nick and Aunt Tasha. And whatever you do-" Stevie cut in. "Don't listen to Uncle Clint!" Nick chuckled. "Good boy." Phil took Tyler's hand and they left.

* * *

Phil glanced at her at the question. "Um...I'd like to...but no, I don't think I believe in reincarnation." They were halfway home by then. He stopped at a light and patiently waited for it to change. "Why do you say that?" He smiled at her. "I love you too." He kissed her hand and then held it, keeping one hand on the wheel. "I don't think I'm likely to."

"I don't know, I just feel like that it's true." she shrugged a little, blushing when he kissed her hand. "I know you'd never forget it, but just incase. I know I shouldn't ruin the mood by saying it, but god only knows what could happen and since I don't think he exists, nobody knows!" she laughed, watching as the light turned green and the scenery began passing by the window again. "Paris," she sighed. "Wow, it'll be so amazing." she smiled, gently stroking her thumb against his hand as he watched the road. "It still feels like we're a new couple. I still get butterflies, still blush when you kiss me... Its so strange." she told him with a laugh. "But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Just in case?" Phil smiled at her. "I like to think I'm open minded. If it's proven to me, I can believe it. I didn't believe in Norse gods before, but now I do." He chuckled and hit the gas when the light turned green, getting them back home and pulling into the driveway. He turned to her and kissed her gently. "It'll be incredible, I have no doubt. Just being with you for a week without worrying about anything else." He kissed her again. "I love you."

She deepened the kiss, and when they broke apart she smiled. "I love you too Phil." she replied. They got out of the car and headed inside, and as the door closed, she momentarily leaned against the wall. She looked around her, a smile on her face. "Everything's so perfect." she said contently, gently pulling him to her and kissing him passionately. "Another reason Paris seems like the perfect place for us to go. It's the city of love." she told him, kissing him again delicately and sliding her hands down his chest. "God, I love you so much baby." she laughed.

Phil smiled at her and then left the car, walking inside with her. He turned back to her when she spoke. "It always has been." He let her pull him in, kissing her back, making it last. "I don't know if I believe in that. I think there's love in every city...and anywhere that I'm with you, can be a city of love." He chuckled. "That sounded cheesier than I meant it to." He leaned into the kiss and suppressed a shiver as her hands slid over his scar. "And I love you too." He kissed her quickly and headed to their bedroom. "We should get packing."

She nodded and smiled at him. "Well I'm pretty much done packing since last night. It's you who has to pack." she grinned, going up the stairs with him. "Yeah, you're not one for the cheesy stuff. But it was still really sweet." she laughed, picking up her bag and setting it on the bed, opening it to make sure she had everything. "I can't wait for this. It's going to be really amazing. New experiences usually are." she sighed contently and closing her bag again, sitting beside it on the bed and watching him pack. She had a grin on her face, and it looked like she was suppressing laughter. "I just had the absolute best idea ever." she told him.

"Oh yeah?" He chuckled and went into the bedroom, taking out a suitcase. He pulled out some shirts and pants from the dresser and put them in neatly. He smiled at her. "I try." He kissed her cheek and went back to packing. When he was done clothing-wise he went into the bathroom for toiletries and then threw in a couple books for the trip and his reading glasses. "Of course it will be." He zipped up his bag and kissed her softly. "And what's that?"

* * *

Phil stirred when she spoke, cracking one eye open and smiling at her. "Good luck. You'll do great." He kissed her cheek and closed his eyes again. "I'll see you later."

* * *

"And what if I do?" Phil started stripping down along with her, examining the starting bruises on his body. He chuckled. "You've got a mean swing." He kissed her softly. "I'd be lonely without you too, Tyler. So, don't you ever go leaving on me."

She smiled at him and kissed him."I would absolutely,positively never ever leave you. And don't you ever leave me either."she said,stroking his cheek gently and staying close to him. "Even if I was gone crazy,was drunk and or high,and you did something completely horrific, I still wouldn't leave you. Simply because I love you too much to even consider it."she said quietly,putting her clothes on the bed and making her way to the shower and turning it on,immediately loving the warm water. "You'd never leave me either,right?"

"We've already established that I'm never leaving. I love my life with you and Steve. Besides, I'm too old to start over again now." He chuckled and followed her to the shower. Phil sighed at the warm water on his bruised skin and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the back of her neck gently. "I'm so happy we get this time together." He took some shampoo and started massaging it into her hair.

She smiled and agreed with him. "We should try do this more often. Not necessarily go somewhere far away from our home, but maybe just weekends away and stuff. Just something nice and relaxing." she said softly, closing her eyes and embracing the warmth of him behind her, how he stayed close to her all the time. It felt blissful, "You aren't too old to start again, baby. You're so amazing, you'd find another girl in two seconds if I ever left, and I just know it." she told him with a warm smile.

"I'd like that. I'll take you and Stevie camping. Up in the mountains. The Catskills. How about that?" Phil smiled and continued massaging the shampoo into her hair. He shook his head slightly. "No, not now. And I could never. Not after you." He brushed his fingers through her hair as the shampoo ran out of it.

She smiled and turned to him, kissing him softly. "That would be amazing, yeah. Stevie would love it too, no doubt." she said with a smile. "Baby, one reason you could never find another girl is because I'd never leave you. And I know the passion's still there, and it won't be gone any time soon. So with all this love, why would I or you need to look somewhere else for love, if we already have heaps of it between us?" she laughed a little, kissing him again.

"We could have a lot of fun." Phil smiled. "I've always wanted to go camping. I mean...I've camped on assignments...it was technically camping, but I've never done it recreationally." He kissed her neck gently. "We'll never have to, baby. I'm just saying, if you weren't around I wouldn't be able to get anyone else. Don't say I would." He chuckled. He took some soap and started to clean her arms.

* * *

"Hmmm... Something like that." He chuckled and smiled. "I'm happy with you pretending." He kissed her back, loving the water running over the two of them, and how close they were. The soap was running off of her body now and he helped it along, rubbing his hands over her arms.

She smiled and kissed deeper, keeping him close to her. "I love you so much baby." she mumbled, kissing him again and again, enjoying his closeness. "I'm perfectly okay with pretending too. As long as you're mine, I have nothing to worry about." she said with a slight shrug, cuddling him close and laughing. "This is one of those times I wouldn't change anything. Not even the simplest of things. It's all perfection." she said to him, kissing him softly.

"Mmm, love you too, sweetheart." Phil smiled and continued kissing her. Water was running over their mouths as they kissed but he didn't mind. "Oh, you know I'm yours...nothing to worry about at all..." He wrapped his arms around her. "Everything's perfect. I love you so much Tyler. You've given me Stevie, and I couldn't ask for anything else."

"I've given us Steve, but you've given me absolutely everything else. Love, life, happiness, a family... I don't need anything else, even if another child would be very nice." she smiled, leaning back against the cold tile wall and looking at him. "Only one circumstance that would ever make me leave. If I had to go to work in the morning." She teased. "But I'd be back in a few hours time." she winked, kissing him again.

"Baby, you've given me everything too. All of that and so much more. And I'd have as many children with you as you want." Phil smiled back at her. He chuckled. "Well, it's a good thing you don't then." He kissed her deeply, pulling her body against his.

* * *

"I love you too, baby." Phil allowed himself to be pulled and he kissed her back deeply. He didn't mind the soapy water. "We'll call him together before we head out to dinner. I still have to give him that bedtime story." He chuckled. "They're two completely different types of wonderful." He smiled at her. "We have complete and utter alone time this whole week. Every day. It's only the nights we have to really worry about Steve. He's in good hands, Tyler. The best in the world." He turned off the water and kissed her again before stepping out of the shower.

She nodded at his reassurance and stepped out with him, planting a kiss on his cheek and putting a towel around herself. "Sometimes I feel life might have been better if..." she stopped herself, angry for thinking such a thing. "What am I saying, life would be horrible without Stevie." she shook her head slightly and frowned at Phil. "If ever the day comes where I say I wish I'd never had Stevie, I give you full permission to slap me." she shrugged.

Phil listened to her, brows furrowing for a moment. After she corrected herself he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked over to her, putting his hands on her arms. "It wouldn't be horrible, but we both love him very much and it is better with him." He smiled at her and shook his head. "I'm not going to slap you, Tyler." He chuckled and then took his towel, drying his hair.

"Well fine but if you by any chance ever even think it-which I /will/ know-, I will slap you." she replied with a wink, kissing his cheek and beginning to dry her hair with a towel. "I need to try something... Wait here." she smiled and walked from the bathroom, and as far away from him as possible without leaving their room. She came back a moment later, expression unchanged. "Anyway, where was I? Oh right. Stevie's the absolute best thing that ever happened to us." she agreed with a nod and a smile, brushing her fingers through her hair and laughing lightly.

Phil laughed out loud. "Oh, so before you said you couldn't hit me and now you're saying that you will definitely hit me!" He chuckled. "I'm perfectly fine with that, babe. Because if I ever do think that I would deserve that slap one hundred percent." He kissed her gently and watched her walk out. When she came back in he had finished drying his hair and wrapped the towel back around his waist. He looked up at her and smiled. "What did you have to go try?"

She smiled and shrugged. "Just... nothing." she shook her head and kissed him again, stroking his cheek. "I'd only ever hit you if you deserved it, you know that baby." she laughed and cuddled upto him. "Besides, you'd deserve it way more than one hundred percent. Hell, I'd even let Fury kick the crap out of you. But then of course I'd feel bad, kiss you and say sorry... but you'd never be like that so we're fine." she giggled.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't nothing, I see that smile." He grinned at her. Phil kissed her back and looked at her when she touched his face. "Well, in that case I would deserve it." He chuckled. "I'd let Nick kick the crap out of me too. Not that he could if I was resisting." He kissed her again. "You're really not going to tell me what you went to try? Is it a surprise?"

* * *

Phil chuckled. "Yes way. You aren't fat, you're pregnant, you're bearing our beautiful child, and you're even more gorgeous. You're not bitchy, you're hormonal, and I don't mind it one bit. I've dealt with Tony Stark for years...all of the Avengers. I think I can deal with my wife being pregnant." He gave her a soft smile. "I'm the luckiest old fart in the world."

She started laughing and kissed him again and again. "Sure, hormonal. What an excuse! Tony's bitchy, yeah. But he's not pregnant so you can't stuff him into the same category." she teased him, kissing his cheek. "Yeah, you are pretty lucky aren't you? I'm luckier though. Way more lucky. I have the perfect husband, the perfect life and the perfect child. What else could I possibly get?" she smiled.

Phil smiled as she kissed him, kissing her back. "I absolutely can stuff him in the same category. He throws tantrums and acts like a woman PMSing." He chuckled lightly. "I am insanely lucky." Phil shook his head slightly. "I'm far from perfect, you're the gorgeous, intelligent, spry young woman who for some reason decided to marry some old geezer." He grinned at her.

She smiled and laughed. "Fine, Tony's a fat pregnant bitch." she shook her head a little and kissed him again. "We're both lucky, darling. And how many times have I told you, I'm not gorgeous, I'm not that smart and I don't even know what spry means!" she giggled, kissing his cheek. "She married some old geezer because she loves him, and he definitely loves her too." she smiled warmly, taking his hand in hers and entwining their fingers before kissing him softly again.

Phil laughed out loud. "That's actually one of the most accurate descriptions of Tony Stark that I've ever heard." He kissed her back. "You are the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen and yes you are smart, do I have to remind you how you hacked into SHIELD?" He chuckled. "See! That just shows you how old I am. I use words that you don't even know the meaning of!" He smiled at her. "Of course I love you, baby. I also love how you didn't say I wasn't an old geezer." He chuckled, joking with her. Phil pressed his lips against hers harder, wrapping his arms around her waist.

* * *

"Oh, really?" Phil chuckled. "Baby, you don't notice because you don't think that anyone looks at you that way. But they do. You're a little oblivious to things like that." He stroked her cheek gently and laughed. "No, I staple them to the walls. Not their skin, just their clothes." He grinned at her. "Anytime I hear them talking about you in ways I don't like..." He kissed her cheek. "If they did know that you were my wife then they wouldn't dare think about flirting with you." He kissed her cheek again. "Baby, you always win. Why don't you let me win this once?"

Tyler had no reply, so just sighed. "Alright fine, you sort of win that one. Maybe I am oblivious to it, or maybe you're just so paranoid about how people look at me that you think they're all flirting." she said, knowing she wasn't making sense but trying to come up with a good argument. For once, she was actually losing. "So you actually staple them to the... and they don't even know we're married? Do they not get suspicious, even slightly by the fact whenever they mention me you staple them, and no other time?" she asked, cocking her head to the side curiously. "I'll let you win, baby. You deserve to win." she smiled, kissing him.

"Good to hear." He kissed her cheek. "Because you are." Phil shook his head. "If I was paranoid in this job I'd be absolutely insane by now." He chuckled. "They are, you just don't see it. And I've heard them talking about you when you're not around." He shook his head slightly. "Well, the ones that do know, I've heard them muse over how I managed to get you. Which gives me more cause to staple them to walls and stick them on desk duty." He kissed her gently. "Well, thanks." He put his jacket on and tied up his shoes. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm ready. I wasn't born ready, but let's say that anyways." she shrugged and smiled. "So... what exactly have you heard them saying? Come on, give a few examples." she asked curiously, genuinely wanting to know. She wasn't expecting anything good, or anything at all. The fact people even remembered her name half the time seemed compliment enough. But, he said they spoke of her? "I really don't believe you when you say I'm beautiful. I'm just not. There are so many prettier... Nat's much sexier, and then agent Hill is a stunner. Then there's me, just plain me. I'm nothing compared to them." she frowned.

Phil smiled. "Well, then. Ready to go explore Paris at night?" He chuckled and kissed her cheek. He shook his head. "I don't know if you want to hear it, baby...or if I want to say." He put his arm around hers and intertwined their fingers before walking out of the room and closing the door behind them. "Baby, you are beautiful. And you're the woman I married. I don't look at Natasha or Maria...I just look at you. And you're gorgeous. They're nothing compared to you, and they never will be." He kissed her gently as they walked out onto the street.

* * *

"You do deserve it. I never lie." Phil grinned and kissed her neck softly before closing his eyes again and relaxing. "I love you too." He slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Tyler...just tell me from now on...anything that happens. I don't care what it is, just let me know." He looked at her with sad, watery eyes. He was a little angry. It might've been the first time he was ever angry at her in their relationship. It was an odd feeling, and it wasn't something that Phil wanted to feel. It was making him so sad to hear what she'd gone through. "Baby...god, Tyler...I wish I could have been there for you..." He was feeling guilty now, guilty for not being able to help her with it. "No...no, why would I ever want to leave you? I could never leave you. I love you so much, Tyler..." He kissed her and held her tight. "Just stop hiding things from me...please stop hiding things from me..."

She stayed silent, unmoving. How could she be so awful, so untrustworthy, so...mean? She let him hug and kiss her without a word, but inside she was screaming. Screaming vile abuse at herself, calling herself every bad word in the book. Sometimes in a haze of anger her thoughts were openly projected to anyone nearby. She hoped it didn't happen now. "I can feel you're angry. I don't blame you. You married a liar and I'm sorry."she said emotionlessly. "I'll tell you everything from now on. I don't understand why you still want to be with me. I lied about our lives. Everything. If I were you I wouldn't waste another valuable second with a liar like me."she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Phil's eyes were closed and he pressed his face against her. He held her close, not wanting to let go. He thought of the child that she was holding right now, barely alive, barely even being. He thought of the child that she was supposed to have, Stevie's dead baby brother who Phil hadn't even known about until today. It made him sad and angry and guilty all at the same time and he hated the feeling, the knots that his stomach and throat were tying themselves into. "Tyler...I love you...that's why I want to be with you. Isn't that enough?" He opened his eyes and looked at her. "God...I love you so much...I could never leave you..."

She sighed and shifted a little. "I um... that was really hard for me to tell you. I need to clear my head. I'm going for a walk, I'll be back later."she said, getting up from beside him and beginning to get dressed. Tyler thought she was showing no emotion. But to someone who knew her as well as Phil did, her agonizing pain was showing. She looked like the same tired, defeated and angry girl he'd first encountered three years ago. Tyler hated when history repeated itself. She got on her shoes and looked at him, pain in her eyes. "Don't forget to call Stevie."she said, her voice barely a cracked whisper as she picked up the umbrella and headed for the door. With her hand on the brass knob, a tear trickled down her cheek as she whispered, "He needs you just like I did."

When Tyler talked about going for a walk, he sat up and watched her. "Tyler, baby..." His eyes were still red. He looked her over and saw it. She was hurting so much right now. When he saw it on her face it killed him. He couldn't bear to see her like that. It honestly scared him. He hadn't seen her like that since three years ago, and that wasn't a time that she had enjoyed. The last thing that she said made his insides twist again. That wasn't fair. That wasn't fair at all. Had she really just said that? Had she really just blamed him for not being there for her when she had kept the problem from him the entire time? Phil jumped out of bed and got dressed quickly. He called Stevie up on his phone. The call took about a half an hour and he did his best to hide to sorrow in his voice. He read him a story, talked about school with him and then the call was over. Phil left the room to go after her. He knew she wanted to be alone, so he would give her distance, but he was worried about her in this state. He wanted to find her to make sure she was okay.

* * *

Phil chuckled. "Absolutely. And you know what? When I take you and Stevie on that camping trip I promised, we'll do it the real way." He laughed as she pulled him over to the fireplace. "We need to go get marshmallows first, babe." He grinned at her. "How did I give you this idea? You just came up with it out of nowhere." He kissed her cheek.

* * *

Phil smiled at her. "Well, in that case you're very welcome." He kissed her cheek and pulled her closer to him. "Really? Well...you know...I don't even know when the first time I tried one was...I don't think I did when I was a kid." He chuckled and took the twig, sticking one on it. "Love you too, babe. It's alright, just please don't scare me again." He kissed her softly.

* * *

"And you are." He smiled back at her. "I never expected that, Tyler. I never expected any of it. I thought we were friendly and you were doing me a favour. Remember you didn't tell me about the side effects? I figured you were just doing something nice for the guy who was going to be your boss." He chuckled lightly. "I'm glad that you did." He shook his head slightly. "Oh come on! That isn't a fair comparison at all. Steve doesn't look a day over twenty-five." He smiled and kissed her back. When they broke apart his grey-green eyes gazed into hers. "Maybe it was that naivety, innocence...maybe I missed having that..."

* * *

Phil almost laughed at that but he stopped himself. "Tyler, nothing's going to happen to us...it's you I'm worried about...you and the baby..." He held her close, his hands gripping her tightly. "I'm going to take a leave of absence...I'm not leaving Stevie without both of his parents." He kissed her cheek. "I need you too, baby...it's because we know we won't have each other for that year...you feel like we need to make up for it now...but we can't..." He kissed her back deeply, trying to enjoy every second of it. But it just left him with an empty feeling even as he straddled her and kissed her again and again. "I love you too..."

She cried as she kissed him, trying to get as much of him as she could. It simply angered her that it didn't feel like enough no matter how deeply or passionately they kissed. She pulled away with frustration, crying openly. "It's not enough... It's just not enough..." she cried angrily. Tyler put her hand over her eyes and took a deep breath. She took a moment, then looked at him with a sad expression. "...I can't go a whole year without you. I'll miss the hugs, the kisses, the nights together, the fun, the fighting... I don't know how I'm going to get through it." she sighed. She hugged him as tight as she possibly could, trying to take as much of his love as she could with her. She didn't kiss him. Because every time they broke apart she wanted more. And she couldn't leave him that way. She pulled up the covers a little and cried, her head buried into his chest.

Phil tried his best to calm her down. He held her close and rocked her gently. "I'll miss you too baby...I can't live without you..." He kissed her cheek. He tried to stop crying, to stay calm for her sake, but he was just as distressed as she was. Still, he tried not to show it for her sake. He would miss her terribly, everything about her and he just knew that every time he looked at Stevie he'd just be thinking of her and the baby. Phil rested his head on hers. "I love you, I'll never stop."

"I love you too... Can you get a goldfish when I come home? I've always wanted a pretty goldfish." she mumbled, knowing that must have sounded like a very strange request on her part. But it was true, she'd always wanted one. "Just don't tell Stevie where I went, okay? Lie if you have to, just do not tell him that his mommy's gone to Russia to kill some very important men to save his future." she pleaded, hugging him more gently now and her tears beginning to stop. "Tell him mommy's gone away for a year to have and adventure or something. Anything but the truth."

Phil chuckled lightly, choking it out. "Yes, I'll buy you a gold fish. You know what? I'll even buy two." He kissed her head. He nodded slightly. But hearing it put so bluntly made him start to cry again. He squeezed her and cried. "What do I tell him? You're going to come back with his baby brother or sister...how do I explain that?" He sobbed into her shoulder.

* * *

"I know...I know..." He choked back a sob. "I can't bear thinking of you alone during it though baby...I want someone be there for you...what about when you get your cravings?" He kissed her cheek. He gave a slight nod. "Okay..." The next thing broke his heart. "Tyler...how can you ask me to do that? How...I could never just..." He took a deep breath, choking up again. "...I can promise you I'll try..." He hugged her again. "You just make sure you be safe. You keep our baby safe. And both of you come home."

She didn't answer him, just hugged him tight. "I don't know about you but I want to make every second last until when I leave." she said. Tyler looked at him silently for a moment, tears in her eyes. She put her hand on his cheek and closed her eyes, stopping the tears from falling. She laughed a little then. "The cravings? You seriously worry about the cravings? Oh honey, I'm really going to miss the stupid things you think about..." she shook her head and laughed, kissing him deeply and putting her arms around his neck. "We'll come home. I promise. Both of us will come home alive and well." she nodded, smiling at him sadly. "I love you." she whispered to him.

"We will...no second wasted..." Phil kissed her deeply and then kissed her cheek. He gave a small smile as she laughed at him. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example...what about when you get your contractions? The cramps? I just wish someone was going to be there for you. I wish it were me but even if it wasn't...just someone." He kissed her back. "You'd better come home. I can't do this without you, Tyler..." He looked out her with a 'kicked puppy' look on his face. "I love you too. More than anything."

Tyler kissed him again and laughed. "No, I liked that example. It was cute." she shook her head and nuzzled him a little. "The contractions and the cramps are nothing to worry about. I'm a tough girl, I can handle it on my own. Besides Maria will be there to help me for the last two or three months, so she'll be around to help me with the baby and what not." she said reassuringly. "Now come on, let's make our time together last while we can." she grinned, kissing him deeply and moving onto him. "I love you more than life itself. Nothing can ever change that baby."

Phil nuzzled back against her and smiled. He felt ten times better knowing that Maria would be around for the last few months. At least she wouldn't be alone then. He made a mental note to thank Maria and talk to her once they were back. "Alright...okay..." He kissed her cheek.

* * *

I am your husband..." He smiled at her. "And I always will be your husband..." He kissed her gently. "I'm glad she'll be there...but she doesn't know about the baby yet..." He smiled when she rubbed the stubble on his cheek. When she pulled back slightly to look at him, he did the same, eyes moving over her face. He wanted to memorize it. He saw her beginning to cry again. He pulled her closer to him. "We could go home early, baby...if you want to see Stevie..." He kissed her forehead.

* * *

Phil chuckled. "It grows in quick." He smiled at her. "I know. You know what, do that. Come home early."

Tyler giggled and hugged him. "I'll try come home early. Who knows, I might get to come home really early. Like... up to three months early. If I work really hard." she said optimistically, kissing him. "I'm glad you try. You could be like Barton and just wallow in the sadness. God, I actually hate when he does that." she murmured, yawning and snuggling into the pillows. "Should I sleep now? I don't want to because it means more time wasted but, I need it too." she sighed and kissed his cheek.

"That'd be the best surprise." He smiled at her. "I so want to be there for the baby..." He kissed her back. "Oh I'm so glad you don't wallow. I can't stand it when he does that." He chuckled when they said the same thing. "Then go to sleep, baby. I'll be here when you wake up." He nuzzled against her.

I know this sounds stupid but, do you promise to be there when I wake up?" she smiled. "Who knows, you might just wake up one morning and I'll be there beside you like I never left. Wouldn't that be amazing?" she laughed, now genuinely considering that idea. That would be the most perfect thing she could ever do for him. So she decided that was exactly what she'd do for him when she returned. Not tell him she was coming home, and just be there one day when he woke. "Alright, goodnight." she smiled.

"Yes, I do. I promise." He smiled back. "That would be absolutely incredible." He kissed her cheek. "I don't think I'll be able to get use to waking up with you not there." He held her closer of that was possible at this point. "Good night." He smiled back at her and kissed her one more time.


	3. The Skip

It had been eight and a half grueling months, and Tyler was a changed person. Her once loving eyes had been traded for those of a killer. Her mind, however, had changed the most. The tortures of having to listen to her son asking her where she was had been overwhelming. So she'd told them that she was dead. Now, nobody was going to look for her. They hadn't searched for a body. But she kept in mind her husband would never let it go. She was on the plane home now, three months after supposedly dying. And she wanted to give him the biggest surprise of his life.

Eight and a half months. It was a long time. Too long. Phil had taken a leave from SHIELD so that he could take care of Stevie and Fury agreed to it, thankfully. Every night, he and Stevie had called Tyler, talking to her before going to sleep. It was torture, hearing her voice and not being able to see or be near her. And then he got the news. She was dead. But there was no body, and Phil wouldn't believe it. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be dead. They were supposed to have another baby and she was supposed to come home to them. And there was no body, and there was no way that he was going to give up on her until he saw it for himself, and so far he hadn't. He'd been digging through files, going through video feed, trying to find her. As far as SHIELD was concerned she was dead, but not as far as Phil was concerned. No. He was going to find proof either way.

She came in the front door, silent. She'd learned many new skills in Russia, and how to be a silent shadow was one of them. She crept up the stairs at four in the morning, sleeping baby in hand. She didn't go to their room immediately. She set the baby down in Stevie's old crib, then went into the bathroom. She stared in the mirror. "Damnit Tyler, you're going to scare the living shit out of him." she smiled a little to herself as she took down her hair and wiped off what little makeup she had on. Despite being a changed woman, Tyler couldn't hide her excitement. She'd daydreamed about this day for over eight months, and it was finally here. She took off her shoes, socks and pants, but left her shirt on. She put them in a bundle by the door and slowly, silently, made her way to their room. Tyler opened the door without a single noise, and walked to the bed. There he was. Sleeping. She missed him so much, only now did it really hurt. She gently pushed back the covers, and got in beside him. Putting her arms around him, she kissed his cheek softly and whispered his name into his ear.

Phil was sleeping. It was early in the morning and he hadn't returned to work yet. Even after nearly a year he hadn't been able to shake the habit of waking up early entirely, but had managed to set off his schedule a couple hours, two at least. Now instead of waking up at three he'd wake up at five or six. Sleep wasn't something he was overly fond of. And every time he fell asleep he dreamt about her anyway. When he felt the lips on his cheek and the name in his ear he thought he was dreaming, until he realized that he wasn't. It felt far too real. Phil's eyes shot open and he sat up in the bed. He reached for a weapon that wasn't there and then stared down at her. His brows furrowed and his expression immediately saddened. Now he had to be dreaming. His eyes wandered over her. It was Tyler, but she looked different. But after a year, they both did. Phil had grown out a beard, not a full one, neatly trimmed and close to his jaw. But he'd also been spending sleepless nights trying to find her as of late, and he was sure that would show on his face too. "Tyler..." Phil reached out a hand to touch her cheek, hesitantly. He thought he was going crazy for a moment. But the touch reassured him and tears sprung to his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "Don't you ever scare me like that again..."

She hadn't moved a muscle when he woke so suddenly. She waited. Tyler let him get a really good look at her before deciding to smile. Her smile was cut short when he pulled her into a hug, but she didn't complain. It was possibly the best hug she'd ever gotten in her whole entire life. "Oh, honey..." she whispered, shaking her head and kissing his cheek. Yeah, she thought. I'm finally home. Tyler would have been lying if she said she hadn't completely fell apart. Being able to touch him, see him, hear him... it was overwhelming. She broke down in floods of tears, hugging him close and kissing him more passionately than ever before. "I missed you so much..." she said in between sobs, clinging to him like a lost child. "I wanted you so bad, b-but I had to die. They were going to take you and Stevie otherwise." she explained, peppering him with kisses and snuggling up tight. "I love you. I love you so much." She couldn't control it. It's like when you open a flood gate and let out all the water, and then try to shut it again. It's practically impossible. So when she was babbling about why she came home and how much she missed him, the only way she could stop herself was by kissing him. It felt so good, and she'd missed it so much. "I'm sorry." was all she mumbled then, looking lovingly into his eyes. Hers filled once more with tears. "I'm so sorry."

When she started to cry, Phil pulled her closer. He bit his lip and tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat but he couldn't. He cried along with her. When she kissed him he pressed back against her. He'd missed it so much, kissing her, hugging her, smelling her, just the touch was enough to bring tears to his eyes. "God, I missed you..." Phil's voice shook as he spoke. He rubbed her back gently, rocking back and forth slightly with her in his arms. "It's okay...It's okay...you're here now...you're back..." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the tears. He kissed her again, deeper this time, slower, enjoying it to its full extent. When he pulled back and looked over her face, he smiled. "I love you too, Tyler." He hugged her tight again. She was still crying and he was trying to calm himself down. He tried to calm her as well, rubbing her back and humming. But then she was kissing him again and he was just kissing back. He didn't want to stop. When she started babbling he just held her. "Shh, baby, shh..." He kissed her again. "I love you." He rested his forehead against hers. "Just stay. Don't leave again."

She smiled sweetly as he cradled her, feeling more loved than she could ever remember. "Phil..."She whispered. "When I was there...so much stress and nerves. But it had the best result." she murmured, kissing his cheek then getting up from the bed. "I haven't thought of any names yet because I wanted you to be here." Tyler left the room, and came back with what looked like a bundled up blanket. But from the way she held it, the caution, it was obviously so much more. "Say hi to daddy..."she cooed to the precious bundle, handing it to Phil. "Another boy." She whispered, smiling tearfully. She loved the amazement on his face. "Few weeks early, but the doctor said he was perfectly healthy. I wanted to tell you, but… I was dead, remember?" She sat on the bed and smiled. "What'll we name him? I was going to call him Tamzet after a person who died when I was there but...it sounded too much like a Russian villains name so I said I'd wait until we came home again. It's so good to be home." she smiled. "I'll leave Stevie sleep though."

Phil smiled at her, looking her over again. He still couldn't believe she was home again after all this time. It was amazing. When she talked about names it took him a moment to realize what she was talking about. "Is it a boy or a girl?" He smiled a little wider. Their new baby. It was still upsetting that he hadn't been able to be there for the birth of the child or the pregnancy at all, but it was too late for that now. He waited for her to come back and when he saw the baby he grinned. Phil took the baby in his arms and looked down at their child. "He's beautiful..." Phil bit his lip, tears coming to his eyes again. He kissed the baby's forehead and looked up at Tyler. "I'm so happy you too are home." Phil chuckled lightly. "That does sound like something out of a James Bond movie." He kissed her softly and then looked back down at the baby. "Well...wow...I haven't thought of any names...I guess I just...didn't think of it..."

She smiled tearfully as he cradled the baby. "He really is, isn't he? He's got your pretty eyes too." she laughed and looked down at the sleeping bundle. "I didn't actually think I'd make it home. But... this little baby gave me hope. So I fought on, and look where I am now." she shook her head. Tyler could see how instantly Phil bonded with the baby. It was a love he'd shown for Stevie too, the moment he first held him in his arms. She watched this moment almost like a movie, how perfect everything was. She still couldn't quite believe she'd made it home without any physical harm. And the baby was perfectly healthy too. Not only had her mission succeeded, but she'd also succeeded as a mother. "I'm happy I'm home too baby." she nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know... I wasn't sure if Tamzet would want a baby named after him anyway, he hated kids." she laughed and kissed him back gently. "I've been thinking for days, but I can't think of anything. Something special..." she shrugged and kissed Phil's cheek. "We have all the time in the world to choose names. For now, let's just enjoy the moment."

"My eyes?" Phil looked down at the child again and smiled. He did. They were the same green as his were. "He's beautiful like his mother though." He looked up at her and kissed her again. "I knew you weren't dead..." He furrowed his brow slightly. "I...I hadn't even told Stevie yet..." He swallowed hard. He'd never given up on her. Phil leaned his head on hers and smiled. He chuckled, listening to her talk about Tamzet. He knew what it was like to work with another person and lose them in the field. It was rough and he'd been through it many times. But you couldn't get hung up on every single person you'd ever lost. It'd kill you. "Baby, you coming back is special enough." He kissed her again and smiled. "I agree."

Tyler smiled at Phil and savored the kiss." His mother is far from beautiful. He got his looks from you." she winked and cuddled them both. "Now, I have an idea for when I put the baby to sleep..." She smirked and kissed his cheek. "Maybe I should put him back to bed, he's had a long day." she paused then. "Ethan...how about Ethan?" she suggested, noticing his eyes open a little and beginning to gently rock him back and forth, humming a song. Soon when the little eyes closed again, she went and brought him back to his crib. She walked in to her room again, and with a sigh she sat on the bed. "I missed you..."she pulled him gently to her and kissed him passionately, lying back with her head on the pillow and guiding him down with her.

"His mother is absolutely gorgeous and will stop saying otherwise." He chuckled and cuddled back. "His father on the other hand is far less beautiful than his mother." He kissed her cheek. "Oh, do you? That sounds promising." He smiled at her. Phil smirked back at her when she kissed his cheek. "Alright." He kissed the little boy's head and then looked back up at her. "I like that name. Ethan..." He watched her with the baby, listening to her hum and smiled. They were what had been missing from his life this past year and it was so strange to see them suddenly here in front of him. When she came back, Phil wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. He lay down next to her, his hands moving down her back. "I missed you so much..." He kissed her again.

That really brought a tear to her eye. Tyler missed the little arguments they'd have about her being beautiful. He'd never give up saying it, just like she'd never stop saying she loved him. "Alright, Ethan it is then." she beamed. What a lovely name she decided. It suits him. Just looking at him now, Tyler realised how absolutely lucky she was. "Stevie and Ethan." She said with a sigh. "Remember how we met, and all of this seems impossible." I missed you too baby." She smiled, kissing him back desperately. Tyler had gone without him for almost a whole year. She wanted to make up for that. Closing her eyes and taking a moment to remember how it felt, when she finally broke the kiss she smiled. "Now, how about we don't talk anymore. Just this..."she kissed him again and pulled the covers up over them a little.

"Ethan..." Phil murmured, trying out the name again. He liked it, but it still felt so strange to have the little boy home with them. He hadn't been around for the pregnancy and there was an unusual feeling of separation, but he knew he just needed a little time to adjust to their sudden appearance. Phil smiled over at her. "Our baby boys." He chuckled. "Tyler. Nothing's impossible, only improbable. And yes, I do remember how we met...of course I do..." He kissed her cheek. "You have to go in and surprise Stevie tomorrow morning. He missed you so much..."When she kissed him back he put his arms around her, moving one hand up to the back of her head and leaning into it further. He smiled when they broke apart and opened his eyes, looking at her again. "I like that idea." He pulled her closer to him under the cover and kissed her again.

To say she hadn't wished to be home with her family would be a lie. Tyler would sit in front of the warehouse door-she always had the night shift, making sure nobody got in-and she would flick over the five pictures she brought with her. It's what got her through the tough times. Thinking over the name they had given the baby, she smiled. "Improbable, impossible...to me there's not much difference." she smiled at him. "Hey...at least I didn't miss our fifth anniversary right?" She smirked. "Stevie... I missed him too, I'll wait until he has to get up for school." She laughed. Tyler couldn't believe how much she'd really missed him. Only now was she realising just how alone she had been. When he pulled up the covers over himself she giggled and pressed her lips against his, trying to re-familiarize herself with his touch, taste and smell. It all felt so natural, that it didn't take long for her to want to say she loved him. But she didn't, because it was obvious he already knew.

"Oh, there's a huge difference, baby. You learn that after thirty years at the job." Phil smiled back at her. "You didn't. And I'm looking forward to it." He kissed her cheek. "He's been waiting for you, Tyler." He smiled sadly, remembering when she'd been gone. Some days Stevie had just sat by the window watching for mommy and he'd had to tell him that she wasn't coming home, not today. It had hurt even more after he'd been told she was dead. He hadn't believed it, but he still had to think about what he'd tell Stevie if it was true. Phil kissed her softly, bringing his hand up to the back of her head and drawing her in closer. When they parted he smiled at her and kissed her again. He'd missed her so much. The touch of her lips, the feeling of her skin against his. He wrapped his arms around her, dropping them down to her hips, his hands resting on her lower back.

_**And that was the end. No more. As the story goes, Phil was killed in action, the two children were murdered and Tyler was put in a mental institute for eight months before being released and moving from New York to California, then eventually back to Russia where she dies, aged 36, in an argument with her brother Vanez that became violent.**_


End file.
